Walking the Edge
by MindKore
Summary: AU. American transfer student (Kiera), goes to Tokyo University her sophomore year. Laughs, sex jokes, and romantic attempts. Is anyone going to get lucky?
1. Preliminaries

Walking the Edge

Preliminaries

Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina, only my precious character Kiera. And Angela.

Rating: R

Warning: There will be sexual humor and lots of it. :-) In case you didn't realize, I'm very American, so forgive me for anything I have wrong. Especially anything cultural.

Oh, and with slash, not a lot, but enough to make a person uncomfortable if they aren't used to it. So if you don't like it, well, browsers are designed with back buttons. Couples featured will be: Motoko/OC, Keitaro/Naru, Shinobu/Su. I'm trying for a poor attempt at romance in this as well. Yeah, I'm done talking now.

Summery: AU. American transfer student (Kiera), goes to Tokyo University her sophomore year. Laughs, sex jokes, and romantic attempts. Is anyone going to get lucky?

Plot: Since I haven't read past Vol. 9 I'm gonna make it up as I go along. And I'm tweaking the timeline just a little bit. (Please, don't hurt me.) I'm just making up logical birthdays. It's gonna go like this:

Kiera – 20, Jan. 7, 1987, sophomore

Shinobu – 21, Nov. 15, 1986, junior

Su – 21, Jan. 11, 1986, junior

Motoko – 23, Dec. 1, 1984, sophomore (It'll be explained later.)

Naru – 24, March 25, 1983, studying for a degree in English

Kitsune – 25, Aug. 31, 1982, slacking off

Keitaro – 26, Jan. 5, 1981, studying for a degree in Archaeology

Sarah – 17, traveling with Seta

Seta – 34, dunno (do it yourself)

Haruka – 33, see Seta's

Mutsumi – 27, see above

Angela - 21, Dec. 17, 1986

If I have anything wrong, just tell me.

-MindKore


	2. Transfer Student

BIG FREAKING DISCLAIMER: I don't own Love Hina, only Kiera. But I wish I owned Love Hina. *sigh*  
  
Anything in italics are thoughts. Or if they're like this: 'thought' and mentioned as a thought. Most of the time.  
  
Chapter 1 - Transfer Student  
  
The 20-year-old American stood in the middle of a teeming sea of students. She looked at the entrance to Tokyo University, at the students hurrying to class. 'Urg, why did I come here? I coulda stayed Davis, but nooo, I had to listen to Alex. Go out and see the world he said. Studying out of the country is good he said.' She thought to herself. Dressed head-to-toe in black, complete with black trench coat and sunglasses, she was getting hot under the sun and hurried through the entrance.  
  
"Oops." A black haired man bumped into her, knocking her to the floor. He was on top of her in a very compromising position, apologizing profusely.  
  
"Sorry, sorry. It's my fault." He said blushing, quickly getting off of her. His red-haired companion, her temple throbbing, decked him, sending him shooting down the corridor.  
  
"Look, I'm so sorry about that. He's such a clumsy moron. By the way, I'm Naru Narusegawa." She held out a hand to help the other girl out. Her black haired companion reappeared, bandage on his head.  
  
"Keitaro Urashima," he greeted brightly.  
  
"Uh, Kiera Trinh," the American replied slowly in Japanese, climbing to her feet and ignoring the hand. "I don't speak much Japanese. Only understand. Speak English?" Kiera asked, albeit slowly. Both nodded to the foreigner. "Great!" she grinned. "Um, do you know where room 219 is?"  
  
"Yeah, we were just heading in that direction ourselves," Naru smiled.  
  
"So, you're a transfer student?" Keitaro asked curiously.  
  
"Yup," the young American replied. "So, uh, can you tell me what's happening today?"  
  
"Today we just go to classes and they go over what they're covering for the year, then on Monday, real class starts. Actually, no one really needs to show up today." Naru replied in English.  
  
"Hey, how about we meet up later, at the front entrance?" she asked as the bell rung. The foreigner nodded. "Sure." All three hurried to class.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A/N: Uh, yeah. My first fanfic. The first chapter of my first fanfic. Review, please. Flames only make me more agitated. And I'm very easily agitated. *creepy music in the background* Crap, I can't get the tags to work, can someone help me out here?  
  
-MindKore 


	3. New Tenant

BIG FREAKING DISCLAIMER: I don't own Love Hina, only Kiera. But I wish I owned Love Hina. *sigh*  
  
Anything in italics are thoughts. If I can get the italics to work. Or if they're like this: 'thought' and mentioned as a thought. Most of the time.  
  
Chapter 2 - New Tenant  
  
"Hmm. Gotta find a place to live," Kiera muttered, searching through the newspaper. "Crap, I can barely read this." She folded the newspaper and leaned against the building, waiting for her new friends.  
  
Keitaro and Naru walked out the entrance of the University, talking and laughing. They spotted her and hurried over.  
  
"Hey, what have you got there?" Keitaro asked, grinning.  
  
"Need a place to live," she muttered. "But, I can barely read the newspaper." Her cheeks reddened slightly.  
  
"Well, I'm the manager of an all-girls dorm," he said, rubbing his neck and looking away.  
  
"Why is guy the manager of a girls' dorm?"  
  
Keitaro and Naru looked at each other and sweatdropped. "Long story."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"This is it."  
  
Hinata House loomed at the top of a long staircase. The American rubbed the back of her neck. "Dorm? It looks more like a freaking mansion." All three of them had begun climbing the stairs and stopped at a landing.  
  
"You think so?" Keitaro asked, tilting his head and looking at the building. Then he stumbled and landed on Naru. Immediately he leapt off and began apologizing profusely.  
  
"Sorry, I'm sorry!" He said in a rush, waving his hands out in front of him. In the flurry, one hand landed on Naru's breast.  
  
"YOU PERVERT!"  
  
Naru pulled her fist back then sent in crashing into his face. He flew, literally, in the direction of the Inn.  
  
"Holy shit, I think you killed him!" Kiera screamed.  
  
"Don't worry, his perverted ass will be fine." Naru replied calmly, climbing the stairs and not turning to face her. Kiera sweatdropped. 'Maybe staying here is gonna be a bad idea.' She thought as she climbed the stairs after Naru.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Keitaro had reached the Inn faster than the two, courtesy of Naru's punch. He climbed to his feet and stumbled through the front door of Hinata House. 'I better tell everyone we have a new tenant.' He thought glumly. Wrapped in his thoughts, he walked straight into a somewhat drunk Kitsune.  
  
"Hey, have you finally given up on Naru?" she ran her hand down his chest. "'Cause I'm still game." Kitsune gave him a drunken smile.  
  
"N-no, I h-haven't Kit," he stumbled away, blood trickling out of his nose. "Sempai, you're home, but where is Naru-sempai?" Shinobu asked as she walked out of the kitchen.  
  
"Oh, Shinobu. Would you mind doing me a favor and getting everyone down here?" Keitaro asked.  
  
"Of course," she replied with a smile and hurried up the stairs. Naru and Kiera chose that moment to walk through the door in silence. Naru motioned for the foreigner to sit. Kiera sat down and took off her sunglasses and Naru sat down next to her. Motoko, Su, and Shinobu walked into the living room.  
  
"Urashima, what is important enough for you to interrupt my training?" Motoko asked gruffly.  
  
"Yeah, Keitaro! What's so important?" Su grinned cheerfully.  
  
"Well, now that everyone's here. We'll be having a new tenant staying with us." Keitaro said. "I hope Aunt Haruka won't have a problem with it."  
  
"Problem with what?" Haruka walked into the room.  
  
"Oh, Aunt Haruka." She walked over and slapped Keitaro on the back of the head.  
  
"Just Haruka. Now, what problem?"  
  
"No problem. Just a new tenant?" Keitaro phrased the last part into a question.  
  
"You're the manager. Just make sure she fills out the papers. I'm heading back to the teahouse. By the way, I'm Haruka Urashima." Haruka stuck out her hand to the impending new tenant. "Kiera Trinh," Kiera shook her hand quickly and let go.  
  
"As I was saying, Kiera is going to be a tenant here for now. She doesn't speak much Japanese, only English." Keitaro continued. "She can understand Japanese though."  
  
Motoko eyed the black clothed foreigner with distaste. "Urashima, this isn't some poor disguise to sneak one of your perverted male friends in here, is it?" she glared at the Kiera suspiciously.  
  
Keitaro shook his head and opened his mouth to speak, but Kiera stood up and cut him off. "Hey, who are you callin' a guy? Have you not been given a basic anatomy lesson before? Here, lemme enlighten you. Keitaro, come here and stand still." Kiera pulled him over.  
  
"Okay, basic physical looks. Males have narrow hips." She gestured to his hips. "Second, women possess these things called breasts." She put her hands up to her chest. "See, breasts," she used a tone that one would use to talk to a small child. "And third, males have external sex organs called a penis. Women have vaginas." She patted the crotch of her semi-baggy jeans. "Nope, no penis here. Any questions?" She smirked.  
  
It was absolute silence for a second or two. Then Kitsune and Naru burst into loud, raucous laughter while Motoko, Keitaro and Shinobu blushed hotly. Su looked confused. "What's so funny?"  
  
Kitsune and Naru laughed even harder, they were wiping tears from their eyes and had difficulty breathing. "I-I have to go practice," Motoko tried to get away quietly. Kitsune's hand clamped around her wrist. "Oh no you don't," she smiled her foxy smile. "We haven't even begun introductions yet."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A/N: Funny? Dumb? Why don't you tell me?  
  
-MindKore 


	4. Introductions

BIG FREAKING DISCLAIMER: I don't own Love Hina, only Kiera. But I wish I owned Love Hina. *sigh*  
  
Anything in italics are thoughts. If I can get the italics to work. Or if they're like this: 'thought' and mentioned as a thought. Most of the time.  
  
Chapter 3 - Introductions  
  
"Er, well, I'm Kiera Trinh. I'm from California, the state of surfers, hippies, and valley girls." Kiera said nervously.  
  
"Mitsune Konno, but my friends call me 'Kitsune'." Kitsune smiled.  
  
"I'm Shinobu Maehara. I'm sure Sarah will enjoy having another tenant from California here." She smiled weakly.  
  
"The name's Su! Kaolla Su!" Su leapt around Shinobu, occasionally rubbing against her.  
  
"Motoko Aoyama." Motoko glared at American. "You better watch your step because, unlike the others, I don't accept you here yet. You'll have to earn it." Her sword was clutched in her hands.  
  
Kiera laughed. "Was that a threat?" Motoko exhaled in a huff and ignored her. She crossed the room and began climbing the stairs. "I'm going to resume training. Call me down for dinner."  
  
"Yeesh, somebody's got their panties in a knot." Kiera muttered under her breath as soon as Motoko disappeared upstairs.  
  
"Just don't say that when she around," Keitaro warned.  
  
"Oh? Why's that huh?"  
  
"Did you miss the sword she was carrying?!"  
  
"Really? Wow, I must've missed it," Kiera smiled sheepishly. Everyone listening face faulted. "Think I should go apologize for my little 'explanations'?"  
  
Everyone nodded vigorously. "She practices on the roof," Shinobu supplied, eager to be helpful. "Just keep heading up the stairs."  
  
Kiera nodded and headed for the stairs.  
  
"Wait, did she just use air quotes?" Kitsune asked no one in particular.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kiera trudged up the stairs. 'Damn, I knew my mouth would get me in trouble someday.' She smirked at the thought. The stairs opened out to an open landing with, you guessed it, more stairs and other landing.  
  
She crept up the stairs as silent as a cat. Poking her head above the final landing, she was entranced by Motoko's movements. 'Graceful, supple, elegant, hot. Wait, did I just think hot?? No, she's not hot. Damn hormones! I just met her!' She thought furiously, her head still above the landing, watching the other. 'You can always just enjoy the show. After all. . .' An inner voice suggested. 'Quiet, you. Ok, showtime.' She was mentally telling herself. She tore her eyes from watching the other and climbed the last few steps.  
  
"Motoko?"  
  
The older girl turned and glared coldly. "Yes?"  
  
"Um, I, uh, just wanted to apologize for the, uh, whole anatomy joke."  
  
Motoko stared, her expression unreadable.  
  
"What I'm saying is, I'm sorry. Sarcastic comments are just my thing, you know? I didn't mean anything by it."  
  
Motoko stared some more. She seemed to think for a moment. "Alright, I accept your apology."  
  
"You willing to shake on it?" Kiera stuck out her hand. They shook hands just as Keitaro punched a hole through the roof, no more than 3 feet away. He kept going, flying through the sky like a bird. Well, a bird with two broken wings anyways.  
  
"PERVERT!"  
  
Kiera sweatdropped. "Does this happen a lot?"  
  
"Only when Urashima does something perverted." Motoko sighed. "Come, let's go get you a room since our landlord won't return for a while."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Keitaro reappeared on the grounds of Hinata House an hour later, without looking much worse for wear. He stumbled once again through the doors and sat down heavily on the couch.  
  
"Hell-o landlord." A voice with a slight American accent greeted.  
  
Keitaro tilted his head back and met eye to eye with his new tenant. "Where are you going?"  
  
"I gotta go and get my luggage, since I've been so gracefully provided a room." Kiera grinned at him. "I'll be back later."  
  
"Huh," he looked at the clock. "Dinner will be in an hour or so. Hurry back. Oh, and I'll bring you the tenant papers later."  
  
She nodded and swiftly headed out the door.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Dinner had come and gone without any sign of their new tenant. Su had disappeared into her room, no doubt working on Mechas instead of homework. Motoko retired upstairs to do her own homework and Shinobu had done the same. Keitaro and Naru had left to 'study' in Naru's bedroom. Kitsune was sprawled out on the couch, a glass of sake in one hand and remote control in the other.  
  
Suddenly the front door opened and in walked Kiera, hauling in and dumping 3 large, gray suitcases and a midnight blue duffel bag on the floor. Kitsune turned and eyed the pile decorating the floor. "Do ya want some help with that?"  
  
"If it wouldn't be too much trouble," she panted sarcastically.  
  
"Oh, no trouble at all, I'll just go get our landlord to help ya," Kitsune replied cheerily. "Only if you don't mind lending me a bit of cash to get some more sake."  
  
"I'd be damned delighted." Kiera rolled her eyes and straightened out, her back cracking in several places. Kitsune walked up the stairs, pleased to have another bank account to drain. Kiera slipped back outside to grab the final black duffel bag and added it to the luggage pile. She slid the door closed and valued the time for a breather before she had to haul her crap up more steps.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Meanwhile, upstairs.  
  
Kitsune hummed an annoying little ditty she heard on the radio earlier. She reached Naru's door with little trouble and slid it open quickly and silently, not even bothering to knock. What she saw rendered her speechless.  
  
She had walked in on the middle of a passionate kiss with Naru on top of Keitaro. They practically jumped apart with Kitsune cleared her throat loudly. Keitaro was beet red with blood trickling out of his left nostril. Naru was glancing around like a frantic trapped animal.  
  
"It's not what it looks like!" Naru screamed, blushing brightly. "I tripped on a book and Keitaro broke my fall!"  
  
"With what? His lips?" Kitsune snickered.  
  
"Yes! No! Arggg!" Naru kicked Keitaro when he opened his mouth to say something. "What are you doing in here anyway?"  
  
"I thought Keitaro should help our new tenant with her luggage."  
  
"I-oh. Um, Kitsune, could you not tell anyone? Please?"  
  
"What kind of best friend would I be if I couldn't keep a secret?" Kitsune smiled. "By the way, I need more sake." She sauntered out the door, laughing to herself.  
  
"Sometimes I could hate her," Naru sighed. She looked at Keitaro. "What are you still doing here? Your tenant needs help." She booted him out the room and slid the door shut.  
  
"Hurry back." He thought he heard her say. Sometimes he wished he and Naru could just tell everyone they were a couple instead of keeping it a secret. He sighed as he picked himself off the floor and ambled down the hall.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Back downstairs.  
  
CRASH!  
  
Kiera opened her eyes at the sound of the crash. She wasn't even aware she closed them. She turned to see Keitaro lying at the bottom of the stairs, upside down and swirly-eyed. "You all right?" she drawled.  
  
He climbed to his feet and shook his head slightly to clear it. "Just fine. I tripped and fell," he smiled sheepishly. He walked over, nearly tripping again over something.  
  
The American rolled her eyes. "Okay. Are you gonna help me out or what?" She got to her feet.  
  
He nodded and reached for the black duffel. She grabbed it quickly and pulled it over. "Ah, I got this one." She said, glancing at him, her eyes unreadable. He gave her a strange look and picked up a gray suitcase. 'That's strange though, I thought I heard metal clang together.' He thought as he followed her up the stairs. "Wait, who assigned you a room?" he stopped and asked.  
  
"Oh, Motoko helped me find a room when you were, uh, indisposed." She said, not turning around. Her tone betrayed slight relief over something. The stairway opened out into the second floor hallway.  
  
"Hmm, I should go thank her for helping then." He mused aloud. He kept following, making sure he didn't drag her things across the floor.  
  
Kiera stopped and half-turned to face him. "What did you say - Yahhh!" she yelped as Keitaro walked into her and brought them both to the floor. She was on her back and he was on top of her. Full body contact.  
  
Neither said anything for a few seconds. Keitaro could feel blood beginning to seep out of his nose. "Get. Off. Of. Me." Kiera growled, annoyed.  
  
In his hurry to scramble off, his hand landed on something soft. Both of them froze and looked down. His hand was resting on her breast.  
  
"Keitaro, if you don't get off me right now, I swear, I'll tear your nuts off and break your arms," she growled dangerously. Keitaro scrambled off, resisting the urge to cover his 'delicate areas'.  
  
Little did they know, Naru was watching the whole scene from her doorway with a mixture of amusement, jealousy, and a little fear over the last comment. She had been ready to help out just in case, but wanted to see how the new tenant would handle herself. Little did Naru know, everyone else was watching them and her with Kitsune restraining the others.  
  
Kiera climbed to her feet after Keitaro got off of her. "I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to touch you! It was a total accident!" he stammered.  
  
She grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up, letting him dangle off the ground. He was surprised when his feet left the floor. "I would appreciate it if this little incident didn't repeat itself," she said slowly, her dark eyes glittering with an angry fire. She lowered him back down to the floor. "Besides, there's nothing to apologize about, I shouldn't have stopped like that."  
  
"Awww, that's so sweet. Someone defending Keitaro."  
  
"Eh?" Both hapless landlord and American turned around.  
  
Kitsune was smiling broadly while Motoko and Naru looked angry. Su was giggling and Shinobu looked worried.  
  
Kiera smirked. "Thank you. Thank you. All I can say is: it needed to be done." She bowed.  
  
"KEITARO! You clumsy pervert!"  
  
"URASHIMA! How dare you take advantage of a tenant this way!" Motoko drew her sword.  
  
Naru and Motoko begin advancing on him. Keitaro began to back away, his hands in front of him to ward off a blow.  
  
Kiera stepped in front of him. "Hold on."  
  
"Move." They said unanimously to her.  
  
"I kind of need him to help me with my luggage. Can this wait?" She smiled.  
  
Both of them looked at each other and at Keitaro. They nodded.  
  
"Fine, I'll hit him later."  
  
"Urashima, you will get the punishment you deserve afterwards."  
  
Kiera nodded and picked up the black duffel bag. There was a distinct clink of metal. She hurried down the hall, leaving Keitaro to fend for himself. He snatched up the suitcase and ran after her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A/N: Ooh, long. Don't worry, some more good parts are coming up. Although, the next chapter isn't really funny, it's more angst than humor. In fact, this whole fic isn't all that funny. Hmm. Oh well, if you review I may respond faster. Or not. Hell, I'll be happy to even get flames as a response. Even though they agitate me. And these freakin' tags! *screams at computer* Oh well. I'll try to finish a chapter a week unless school work ties me down.  
  
-MindKore 


	5. Charade

BIG FREAKING DISCLAIMER: I don't own Love Hina, only Kiera. But I wish I owned Love Hina. *sigh*  
  
Anything in italics are thoughts. If I can get the italics to work. Or if they're like this: 'thought' and mentioned as a thought. Most of the time.  
  
Chapter 4 - Charade  
  
They moved the rest of the luggage without further incident except for Keitaro falling down the stairs again. And again. And again. But it lost its novelty after the second time and was just annoying.  
  
They were both lying on the floor of the bare room, looking at the ceiling. Kiera's room was on the far side of the wing with Naru and a full bathroom just up the hall. The room was large and sparsely furnished with a desk, partition, and one lone rolled-up futon behind the partition. Two sets of hanging florescent lights and a medium-sized balcony were the only other features of the roughly L-shaped room. All in all, it was very empty.  
  
"Are you hungry?"  
  
Kiera looked at Keitaro. "What?"  
  
"Well, it's my duty to make sure all my tenants are cared for," he puffed himself up. "And you weren't here for dinner anyway."  
  
"Nah, I'm alright. Besides, what happened to the papers I needed to fill out?"  
  
"Oh, that's right. Be right back." He got up and walked out of the room.  
  
Kiera tucked her hands under her head and closed her eyes. Down the hall, a faint scream was heard and another crash. Her mind began to drift into the wonderful world of unconsciousness when Keitaro reappeared. She cracked an eye open at his entrance. "What are you doing?"  
  
Keitaro sat on the floor, looking at her. "Do you mind if I ask you a question before you fill this out?" The sheaf of documents sat forgotten in his hands.  
  
"Sure."  
  
"What was that sound earlier? The metallic one."  
  
Kiera's eyes darkened. "Nothing important, just some of my things." Her tone implied nothing else was to be discussed about it.  
  
He nodded. 'She's been the only girl to defend me for a while. In fact, the only girl ever. Better not push it.' He thought to himself. "Here." He handed her the sheaf of papers. "I'll get them tomorrow. Night." He nearly tripped again on the way out.  
  
She examined each form and quickly filled them out. They asked for nothing more than basic information and emergency contacts. She dropped them on the desk and stretched out a little bit. 'Ahh, some alone time.' She thought.  
  
Kiera was glad she didn't have to keep up the charade of normal any longer. She pulled her black duffel over, unzipped it, and pulled out a black- sheathed straight edge katana. She laid that to the side and drew out a silver-folding knife. She flicked it open and stared at the edge for a moment then pressed the knife to her wrist and drew it slowly across the skin. She hissed at the sudden pain and reveled in it. Blood welled up slowly and began to run down her arm.  
  
Low laughter cut through the silence as she traced the wound with her tongue and licked up the blood. She drew back and watched as the cut healed itself with an unbelievable, supernatural speed. Soon nothing was left but a shiny pink scar, another one for her 'collection'.  
  
She slowly put every thing back into her bag and kicked it aside. Unrolling the futon, she took off her trench coat and laid it on the floor beside her. Too tired to change, she slipped under the covers and after a few moments of turning around, fell asleep.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Next Friday, late afternoon. . .  
  
Motoko climbed the stairs up to the roof to practice and paused in the middle of the final stairway. Slow, deep breathing could be heard and the sound of something cutting through the air. She climbed up a few more steps and peered over the landing.  
  
Their new tenant was there, practicing sword maneuvers with a Westernized katana, all straight edged with a tapered tip. The young American was dressed in set of loose, black warm up pants, sneakers, and a sleeveless black t-shirt, mangled for the sake of practicing in and comfortability. Her long, black hair was braided back again. The shirt was torn enough to show glimpses of a smooth, tanned stomach.  
  
Motoko suddenly found herself frozen in place, almost enraptured with the sight. Her mouth dry, her eyes followed every movement made by the American. 'Hold on. Why am I looking at her? Is this what Kitsune meant by checking someone out? And why is she so appealing? No, she is not appealing. She is a woman, this is wrong on so many levels!' She blushed and shook her head to clear it of unclean thoughts.  
  
"I can hear you breathing you know, you can come out now."  
  
Motoko stiffened. Her eyes unwillingly slid back to Kiera. She was standing there, smirking, the setting sun behind her. The katana was sheathed and propped up against her shoulder. Motoko climbed the rest of the steps and came face to face with her.  
  
Kiera grinned. Motoko's eyes widened when she noticed Kiera had almost wolf amber eyes and slightly elongated and sharp looking canines. Kiera twitched and she glanced off into the distance. When she turned back, her eyes were once again dark but her eyeteeth were still slightly pointed.  
  
She blinked. "Motoko," She nodded, her expression betraying slight surprise. "I never suspected you for the spying type."  
  
"I wasn't spying," Motoko shot back quickly, forgetting the detail of Kiera's eyes and teeth just as fast. "I just came up here to practice and found you up here." 'Why am I being so mean?'  
  
"Whoa, hold off there. I was just kidding around." Kiera held her hands up in front of her. "I'll go if you want." Her shirt fluttered in the slight breeze, distracting the other for a split second. She half-turned to leave.  
  
Motoko frowned. "No, don't go just yet." She grabbed Kiera's wrist. "I want to know how long have you been practicing up here without me noticing." She forced her eyes not to look at the shirt.  
  
"Uh, since I started staying here. It wasn't all that difficult because I get back before you. Then I practice 'til I hear you get in. I must of lost track of time today." Kiera pulled out a watch from her pocket. "Or because you came back early." She looked down at the hand. "Um, can you let go now?"  
  
The samurai released the other quickly. "Well, then... I-I challenge you to a duel!"  
  
"What the hell for?!"  
  
"Because!"  
  
Kiera stared at Motoko. 'Hey, she's kinda cute when annoyed. Yaahh, what the hell am I thinking?!' She shook her head violently. "You can't make me!" 'Oh my god, how much more immature can I be? Might as well just stick out my tongue too.'  
  
"Oh, yes I can!"  
  
"You and what army?!"  
  
Both of them glared at each other then Kiera burst into laughter. "We sound like children." She smiled.  
  
"I still want a duel." Motoko said emotionlessly.  
  
Kiera exhaled noisily. "Fine. I'll see you at dusk then." She hurried downstairs, leaving Motoko all by herself.  
  
She sighed and looked up at the sky. Now until dusk gave her at least an hour for practice.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A/N: Hey, sorry about the lack of update last week. Too much school work. And thanks to my reviewers. You love me, you really love me! Either that or you're just too nice to tell me off. Anyway, I did just a little grammer editing in chapters 1-3. Nothing big, just better proofreading.  
  
So yeah, tell me whatcha think. Oh, for a little poll here: should Motoko stay more traditional and try to talk herself out of feeling anything, or should she be more open minded about checking out Kiera? I'm kinda leaning on the former, but it would be nice to get other opinions. And Kiera, should there be any suspicious things happening? Should I have saved the supernatural stuff for later? Should I shut up now?  
  
-MindKore 


	6. Fight, Fight, Fight

BIG FREAKING DISCLAIMER: I don't own Love Hina, only Kiera. But I wish I owned Love Hina. *sigh*  
  
Anything in italics are thoughts. If I can get the italics to work. Or if they're like this: 'thought' and mentioned as a thought. Most of the time.  
  
Chapter 5 - Fight, Fight, Fight  
  
The others were gathered on the rooftops surrounding landing. Kiera and Motoko were at opposite corners. Motoko clad in her usual red hakama and white gi and Kiera dressed in her black clothes and black trench coat.  
  
"Don't you want to talk this over?" Keitaro asked. "I don't want anyone to get hurt." He was the referee, right down to the striped shirt and black slacks.  
  
"Keitaro, shut up. You're ruining the fun." Kitsune threw a shingle at him. Naru rolled her eyes.  
  
"Hey, watch it!" He ducked. "You nearly hit me!"  
  
While he yelled at Kitsune, Su took the opportunity to chuck a shingle at him. It hit him directly on the back of the head and sent him flying over the railing.  
  
THUD! "I'm okay!"  
  
"Su!" Shinobu scolded.  
  
The blond girl smiled at Shinobu. Behind her back, she fingered another to throw once Keitaro got back upstairs.  
  
"Su, I know you're going to throw another one. If you do, you can't sleep with me tonight." Shinobu whispered in the blond one's ear.  
  
Su's face fell. "Alright." She knocked the shingle away.  
  
Keitaro suddenly reappeared, sporting a bandage on his head.  
  
"Hey, what are the rules?" The American asked, unsheathing her katana.  
  
"First blood only. Let's keep this fight clean. No hair pulling, no biting, and no blows to the head. Now, if there are no objections, let's get it on!" He sweatdropped under the weight of the stares he was getting. Maybe he shouldn't have watched Celebrity Deathmatch after all.  
  
Naru sweatdropped. "What the hell is that?"  
  
"Hey Motoko, maybe Keitaro's right. You should quit while you're ahead and save yourself an ass whooping," Kiera smiled mockingly, her katana hung, point down, in her hands.  
  
"You're the one who going to get your ass whooped," Motoko snarled.  
  
"Yeah, real tough coming from someone who's talking and not fighting," Kiera goaded. 'Yeah, piss her off and she'll make the first move and first mistake.' She chuckled to herself.  
  
Motoko tore her sword from the sheath. "Why you. . .' she thought angrily and let off the first attack that came to mind. "AIR CUTTING STRIKE!"  
  
"Oh, fuck."  
  
Kiera dodged left to avoid the wall of chi. "Neener neener! You missed me!" She laughed and ran in closer.  
  
"SPLIT ROCK MANUVER!"  
  
She ducked under the blade and slashed across Motoko's stomach. It met nothing but cloth. "Damn." She spun around and came face to face with her opponent, her katana in an awkward defensive position with its point down. "Heh, you spend too much time calling out your attacks."  
  
"Oh yeah? Then why are you on the defense?"  
  
"Hey, you know what they say. It's all fun and games 'til someone gets hurt." Kiera's sword point rifled up, attempting a slash across the other's chest.  
  
Motoko blocked and barely stopped it. Her brows furrowed in thought. 'How did she do that? I should've been able to knock her sword away.'  
  
Both pushed against each other, trying to put the other off balance. Suddenly Kiera lashed out with a fist and struck Motoko in the stomach. The young samurai stumbled back and quickly regained her footing. She swung her sword only to hear steel on steel and leapt back. Her weapon raised in another attack when Keitaro ran between the both of them. Their audience sat and watched in shocked silence.  
  
"Stop, stop! Kiera won!" He grabbed Motoko by the shoulders.  
  
"WHAT?! Are you blind, Urashima? We're not done yet!" She struggled to get out of his grasp and strike the smirking American.  
  
"No, she won. You're already bleeding Motoko," he said gently, forcing her arms down.  
  
The samurai paused and looked down to see her top cut through to the flesh underneath. It was a deep slash across her abdomen, bleeding rather heavily and soaking into her clothes. Her fingers traced the wound and came away stained. "But how?" 'I don't recall being struck so hard.' She thought to herself as she pressed a hand against it to slow the flow of blood.  
  
Kiera stared at the wound, at the blood, with almost a primal hunger then her expression blanked. She drew her eyes up to Motoko's. "Eh, I can answer that." She opened her left hand, palm up. There sat a silver folding knife, spotted with red. She flicked it open and showed it was covered in drying blood.  
  
"You cheated!" Motoko lunged at her.  
  
The American swatted the sword aside with her own. "All's fair in love and war," she shrugged and leaned in. "Be glad I'm not in love, lust maybe," she hissed in the swordswoman's ear. She drew back with a peculiar, sly smile on her face.  
  
Motoko blushed bright red. 'Why am I blushing? And just what did she mean by that??' Her mind offered a few suggestions that made her blush harder. She sank to her knees, leaning on her sword for support.  
  
"Here, lemme see your wound," she knelt down and laid her hand on Motoko's. A different hand clamped on Kiera's shoulder.  
  
"What do you think you're doing? You're lucky she's not seriously-"  
  
"Naru, it's alright." She tried to placate the angry redhead. She looked down at Kiera. "Well, you won. You may do to me as you wish." Motoko bowed her head.  
  
'Oh, I can definitely think of a few ideas.' An inner voice suggested. Kiera struggled not to grin and succeeded. "Let's worry about that later and get you fixed up first." She pulled her hand back.  
  
Su and Shinobu had already disappeared and Naru was standing off to the side, fuming. Kitsune observed the scene with masked interest. She hadn't caught what was whispered between the two that made the resident swordswoman blush so hard, but now she was curious. 'Something's going on and I'm gonna find out.' She smiled to herself. "Come on Naru," she grabbed her friend by the arm. "Motoko's going to want to wallow in her defeat, so let's go back downstairs and let them help her."  
  
Naru reluctantly let herself be led away and down the stairs. "Keitaro, as our manager, you have to help Motoko," she sniffed, glaring at Kiera with thinly veiled anger. She stomped down the stairs after Kitsune.  
  
"Sorry about that, it's just that Naru is protective of her friends," Keitaro frowned. "But that was really dangerous, someone could've been badly hurt." He sighed, "I'll go call the doctor." He turned to leave.  
  
Motoko grabbed his wrist. "Urashima, I will be fine. There is no need to trouble the doctor."  
  
"But-"  
  
"I'm fine." Her tone carried an air of finality.  
  
"If you're sure." The manager sighed. "Here, give me a hand and let's get her downstairs."  
  
"I can walk on my own, thank you." Motoko rose unsteadily to her feet, using her sword as support. Her hand was still pressed against her wound, the blood flow tapering off slowly. She wavered and Kiera quickly rushed to one side as Keitaro rushed to the other. She shook them both off.  
  
"Motoko, please, you'll hurt yourself more if we can't help," Keitaro pleaded, his hands ready to catch her.  
  
"Come on, is your pride really worth major bodily injury?" The other sighed.  
  
In response, Motoko held her free arm out to the American. Kiera ducked under her arm and wrapped one arm around the samurai's waist for support. She pulled Motoko's arm around her shoulders, holding onto her tightly and carefully. Keitaro gently pried the sword from the swordswoman's hands and also picked up Kiera's sword.  
  
"I'll go and get the first aid kit." He rushed downstairs, taking both swords with him.  
  
"So. Your room or mine?" Kiera grinned suggestively, trying to lighten the mood as they hobbled down the stairs. To her immense surprise, the other laughed.  
  
"Oh, my room please. It's difficult to comprehend what a foreign fiend might do to me," Motoko teased, her eyes twinkling.  
  
"Alas!" Kiera dramatically held her free hand up to her heart. "Thine honeyed words hath lain my heart bare!"  
  
"Ah, but thou speaks with the devil's forked tongue, nothing but lies and deceit." Motoko countered, smiling.  
  
They were laughing when they reached Motoko's door. "We have reached our destination, whilst I be deprived of thy company now?" Kiera grinned as she slid the door open.  
  
"Nay, how can I turn thee away? Enter."  
  
"Thank you, fair mistress."  
  
They limped over the threshold and over to Motoko's futon. It was already unrolled with a first aid kit sitting to the side it. Both of their swords were lying next to it.  
  
"Um, yeah," Kiera helped Motoko sit down on the futon. "So, I'll help fix you up since it was my fault." She knelt down and fished around in the unusually large first aid kit for gauze and alcohol. "Maybe you should lie back."  
  
Motoko obeyed and the American pulled out gauze and rubbing alcohol from the kit.  
  
"Um, you, uh, have to remove your top. I need to see the wound." Kiera blushed slightly, looking away.  
  
The samurai blushed herself, but undid the ties for her top clumsily and one-handed. She flinched a little when hands came to contact with her flesh. Kiera helped her out of her top, leaving her lying there with only her chest wrappings. She slid off her own trench coat, laying it to the side.  
  
"You need to move your hand." She struggled not to stare while Motoko drew her hand away from the wound. She exhaled heavily. "That's gonna need stitches."  
  
Motoko flexed her fingers, flakes of dried blood fell off. "I don't want to trouble the doctor with such a trivial matter."  
  
"Trivial? I dealt you a deep cut there. You don't need an infection to add onto it." Kiera prodded the edge of the wound, causing blood to flow out and cover the finger. The other winced. She brought the finger to her mouth and sucked the blood off slowly, savoring the metallic flavor.  
  
Motoko watched intently, well aware that her body was heating up the more she stared. 'Damn, what's wrong with me? That's blood, it's not suppose to be a turn on.' The American looked straight into her eyes; once again they were rimmed with amber.  
  
"Well, I know another way to fix it, but you have to trust me." In a blink, the amber rim was gone, her eyes were again dark pools. "It's either that or the doctor." They sat in silence for a few moments.  
  
"I'll take the alternative way."  
  
A pleased smile crossed Kiera's expression. "All right. Close your eyes."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kitsune walked in on an eyeful when she had found Shinobu and Su in the hot spring, making out with a fervor.  
  
"Well, well, what do we have here?" The foxy woman smiled. "I didn't know ya swung that way Shinobu."  
  
Both of them stiffened and the violet-haired one pushed the blond one away. "Kitsune! It's not what you think!" Shinobu exclaimed, turning red all over. Su drifted back over and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend from behind. "Let's face it, we can't hide ourselves forever Shinobu."  
  
The younger girl leaning into the blond's strong arms. "But they'll kick us out because we're. . ." she trailed off. She looked up at Kitsune's face. Surprisingly, she didn't find the normal conniving smile she always wore, but a kindly one.  
  
"Now, I was just kidding around. I'm sure no one would really mind you two being together." Kitsune took a step back into the doorway. "I'll take a shower, and give you two some privacy." With that said, she left. Su and Shinobu stayed and cuddled, pleased that it didn't turn out worse.  
  
In the shower, Kitsune pondered random things while she washed herself. 'Shinobu and Su. I can say I never saw that one coming.' Thinking back, it explained a lot of things. 'Hmm, now what about our new tenant and Motoko? I don't intend to let that one slip by me!' She toweled off and quickly got dressed. She headed out and up the stairs, determined to dig up some dirt.  
  
Walking down the second floor hall, she spied Keitaro exiting Motoko's room. Kitsune ducked into a doorway and popped out just as he walked by. "Hey Keitaro. Did you finally give into your urges and take Motoko?" she smiled slyly.  
  
He reddened and rolled his eyes. Even after all this time, he still blushed at Kitsune's comments. "No, I just dropped off the first aid kit in her room." She just smiled at him and stepped aside, allowing him to pass. He hurried past her, patting her head and making a beeline for Naru's room.  
  
Kitsune slipped into Su's room as soon as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She waded through various machine parts and foliage over to the wall connecting Su's and Motoko's room. Pulling a compact hand drill out of nowhere, she drilled a pair of holes, bringing Motoko's unrolled futon in direct view. Soon, both sword swingers limped in, the American laying the other down on the floor. They were talking and because Kiera's back blocked her view, she couldn't hear a word they were saying or read their lips.  
  
She pulled back from the wall, and returned to the pile of discarded machinery. Frantically digging around, Kitsune uncovered a pair of wraparound headphones with rabbit ears where the speakers should have been. Designed to be sensitive enough to hear a cricket chirp a mile away, she rushed back over to the holes and peered through. Pulling them on, she winced a moment when loud noises flooded deaf ears before it configured itself to her. Kitsune's eyes widened when she saw Motoko's bloodied torn top lying to the side. She pressed closer against the wall, catching the last bits of Kiera and Motoko's conversation.  
  
"-either that or the doctor."  
  
"I'll take the alternative way."  
  
"All right. Close your eyes."  
  
Kitsune spotted the glint of a blade as Kiera lifted her hand. Stifling the urge the cry out, she just let the scene play out. Somehow, she knew the other wasn't going to hurt Motoko.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kiera flicked open her folded knife again and wiped the remaining blood off onto her pants. She transferred it to her right hand and pressed the blade against her left palm, ignoring the feeling of being watched prickling down her spine. In a swift downward stroke, she hissed as the blade cut through her skin as easily as it had for Motoko. Clenching her teeth, she squeezed her hand into a fist, letting drops of blood fall into the wound.  
  
Motoko resisted the instinct to cover the wound when the first burning drop fell in it. She pressed her short fingernails into her thighs as more drops of fire dripped into her cut, magnifying the existing pain and growing more intense by the second.  
  
The American blinked as she watched Motoko sink her nails into her thighs, a grimace of pain contorting her normally calm expression. For the first in a long while, she felt a twinge of guilt for causing unnecessary pain. She looked at her now undamaged palm then back to the samurai. Quickly, she maneuvered herself from sitting at the other's side to straddling the swordswoman's legs. Without another thought, she pressed her mouth to the wound.  
  
When Motoko felt something rest itself against her legs, she immediately stopped fidgeting. She gasped when she felt something warm and wet press against the wound, sending the thought of pain fleeing. Her eyes popped open and she looked down to find herself staring straight into Kiera's eyes. She watched as an amber rim outlined her iris and slowly consumed its way to the pupil. Her eyes slid shut again as she began to squirm slightly from the sensations.  
  
A low, involuntary moan escaped Motoko's lips as she felt a tongue begin to abrade the injury. The pain faded as the under the hunger of other things, darker, more heated things. Hot breath danced across her skin as she began to recognize what she was feeling. It was unfamiliar, but she knew her own body well enough to figure it out. She was undeniably aroused.  
  
Kiera pulled back from the wound, her lips curled up into a smirk. Under her ministrations, the deep cut had become wet, unbroken skin. She dipped her head down and traced her tongue slowly across the skin a final time. As she drew back, she exhaled over the skin, eliciting a shiver from Motoko as the breath gusted over damp, reddened skin.  
  
As Kiera climbed to her feet, she scooped up her sword. "Hope you feel better," she winked to Motoko as she walked out, her trench coat lying forgotten on the floor. The door silently slid shut behind her.  
  
"Damn." Motoko breathed as the door glided shut.  
  
"Fuck, now I need a cold shower." Kiera muttered as she walked down the hall.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Inside Su's room.  
  
"Oh my God."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A/N: I think I was trying too hard. Oh well, here's a long chapter to make up for no update on Sunday. And thank you to my few reviewers. *hint hint* I hope this chapter lives up to its R rating now. Yeah, so tell me how this chapter is, I have low confidence in my writing skills. (Is it even possible to make a story over-descriptive??) With school soon to be out, I'll have plenty of time to work on this. Remember, review! I might update faster!  
  
And respond to my poll! Should Motoko stay traditional or be more open- minded? Should the supernatural stuff make more of an appearance? Should I be allowed to talk to myself?  
  
-MindKore 


	7. Confusion

BIG FREAKING DISCLAIMER: I don't own Love Hina, only Kiera. But I wish I owned Love Hina. *sigh*  
  
Anything in italics are thoughts. If I can get the italics to work. Or if they're like this: 'thought' and mentioned as a thought. Most of the time.  
  
Chapter 6 - Confusion  
  
Kiera dried her hair with a towel while pacing inside her room. 'That shower didn't work, maybe I should skip dinner.' Random thoughts buzzed through her mind. She sat down on her bed, clad in another pair of black jeans and black bra. Her shirt was lying next to her on the bed. She got up and began to pace around the room again. "Stupid, I am so stupid," She bonked herself on the head a few times for good measure.  
  
"Hey Kiera, are you in there?" A familiar male voice asked.  
  
She twisted around as her door opened. "Damn it Keitaro, don't come-"  
  
"Dinner's-" He walked in and caught sight of her. "-ready." Immediately, he turned red and blood started to drip out of his nose. He stammered out something that sounded like an apology and rushed out, pinching his nose shut.  
  
She sighed, pulled on a shirt, and hurried after him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kiera walked into the dining room as everyone was beginning to eat. Utensils paused mid-air when everyone stopped to look at her. No extra place was set out for her and Shinobu looked apologetic.  
  
Naru pointed at a cup of ramen noodles on the table. "Boil the water yourself." She turned back to her food and began eating again. Everyone save Kiera sweatdropped when they remembered what Naru did to Keitaro when he was first appointed manager.  
  
The American simply shrugged and grabbed the cup of noodles. "Whatever." She left as quietly as she came, only changing course slightly to kick Naru's chair and brush past Motoko.  
  
Out on the stairs, in front of Hinata Inn, Kiera sat on the top step, quietly eating her noodles. Halfway through, she chucked it into the nearby bushes and continued to sit there, listening to the night sounds of a small town. In the darkness, her keen night vision picked out a figure climbing the steps at a snail's pace. As it neared, she could tell it was a young woman, dressed in a pale green skirt and white blouse. Kiera silently got up and moved to sit under the shadows of surrounding trees. Just as the woman reached the top of the steps, she fainted and collapsed in an unruly heap on the ground.  
  
Kiera blinked and rose to her feet. "Hey, you okay?" She walked over and knelt down. "Are you hurt or something?" She rolled the unconscious woman onto her back and checked for a pulse.  
  
There was no pulse. 'Holy shit! She's dead!' The American thought frantically.  
  
While Kiera was trying to figure out what to do, the 'dead' woman regained consciousness. "Oh my, did I pass out again?" She held a hand to her head. "Who are you?"  
  
The young American's eyes widened. "What the hell?! I thought you were dead!"  
  
"No, I just fainted."  
  
"You had no pulse!"  
  
The older one shrugged. "It happens sometimes. So, who are you?"  
  
"I could ask you the same thing."  
  
"Well, I'm Mutsumi Otohime." She said in an almost ditzy manner.  
  
"Uh, Kiera Trinh." Kiera rose to her feet and dusted herself off.  
  
"It's nice to meet you," Mutsumi got to her feet. "Well, I gotta go now." She turned and tripped over the hem of her skirt, landing on her face. She didn't move.  
  
"Goddamn it." Kiera muttered as she knelt down to pick up the other girl's motionless body. With the woman in her arms, she used a foot to slide open the door blocking her entrance into the Hinata House. She shut the door the same way and dumped an unconscious Mutsumi on the couch  
  
"Kyaaaah! What did you do to Mutsumi?!"  
  
'Aw, shit. Not her.' Kiera grimaced as she looked up, making eye contact with Naru. "I didn't do anything. She fainted coming up the steps."  
  
"Sure, how do we know that you didn't assault her like Motoko?"  
  
Behind Naru, the others were drifting in from the dining room, attracted by the noise. "What the hell are you blabbering about? Motoko challenged me to a duel. I just used any means to win it. Now, if you'll excuse me." Kiera brushed past Naru, shouldering her in the process.  
  
"Hey!" Naru stumbled back a few steps and regained her balance. She grabbed Kiera's arm. "You'll stay right here until Mutsumi wakes up and tells us what happened."  
  
The American didn't turn around. "Lemme go."  
  
Mutsumi chose that moment to regain consciousness. "Oh my, what happened? Where am I?"  
  
"Mutsumi, are you alright?" The redhead had let go of the other's arm. "Did she," she pointed at Kiera accusingly, "do anything to you?"  
  
"No, I just fainted, that's all. Can I have some water?"  
  
"Of course," she heading for the kitchen, shooting a parting glare at the younger girl. The other just gave her the finger.  
  
Kiera took the opportunity to slip upstairs while everyone was partially distracted.  
  
Motoko turned in time to catch sight of Kiera's backside as she crept upstairs. 'Ooh, nice view.' A little voice inside her head commented. 'No, it is not a nice view. She is a woman. I am straight, therefore not interested in women. End of story.' She thought, getting angry with herself. 'Well, you were having fun earlier.' The voice hinted. 'Shut up. I am not going to have an argument with myself over how straight I am.' She thought as she stalked up the stairs. Unnoticed in the background, Kitsune had also disappeared upstairs.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Motoko slid open the door to her room quietly, an idle hand hitting the light switch as she passed. As the lights flickered to life in a bright flare, she recognized the unfamiliar, dark pile of cloth in her usual neat surroundings. Picking it up, she realized what it was, Kiera's trench coat. 'She must have left it in here when she was. . .' her thought trailed off with a blush. 'I'll just go return this to her.'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kiera drummed her pencil against her Calculus book. "I don't feel like doing anything." With a sigh, she opened the book and started working on her homework. Two problems in, she heard a light knock at her door. "Kiera, are you in there?" a voice asked from the other side.  
  
Eager for the interruption, she dropped the pencil on the table. "Yeah. Come in."  
  
Motoko opened the door and walked in, a faint blush still visible on her cheeks. "You left this in my room," she held the trench coat out to Kiera. Glancing around, she took in the features of the room. It hadn't been changed much since the room was cleaned up for the American to live in. There was a new partition, decorated with a large tiger and dragon, blocking off the view of an actual bed. A desk and other small furnishings made the otherwise empty room livable. Other than everything decorated in dark colors and white, it seemed pretty comfortable.  
  
"Thanks." Kiera had gotten up to greet her visitor and leaned against her desk. "I was wondering where I put that. By the way, how's your injury?" A toothy smile touched her lips. She pushed off from the desk and approached the samurai.  
  
Motoko blushed hotly. "Just fine, thank you for asking."  
  
"Are you sure you don't want me to take a look?" Kiera circled around Motoko slowly, grinning mischievously. She tugged at the other's top a little, making the samurai jump. Plucking the trench coat from the older girl's arms, she threw it onto the chair she was sitting in.  
  
"No, no. I am perfectly fine." Her blush returned but her voice was calm, amused almost. Her hands smoothed out the imaginary wrinkles left from Kiera's tugs. "I actually came here to discuss something with you."  
  
"Oh yeah? Talk, I'm listening."  
  
"I was wondering. . ." Motoko mumbled the rest of the sentence.  
  
"What did you say? You're wondering what?" Kiera leaned in closer. Of course, her sharp hearing had caught the words the first time, but she wanted to make Motoko say it. Not to mention, taking advantage of getting as close as humanly possible to unnerve the other.  
  
Motoko mumbled out something again.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I was wondering if you are willing to spar with me for practice!" Motoko's gaze shifted to the floor.  
  
"Now, was that so hard?" Kiera smirked. "I'd love to spar with you. Once a week, same time, same day?"  
  
"Of-of course." She was mildly surprised with the quick agreement. "But only if you agree to fight fair from now on."  
  
"Fair? Aww, that's no fun." Kiera circled behind Motoko, her hands resting lightly on the taller girl's shoulders. "Can't you tell I like playing like that?"  
  
It wasn't what she said that got under Motoko's skin, but how she said it. Tingles raced along her spine at the implications. 'Gah, what is wrong with me?' She thought as she shied away from the contact.  
  
Behind her, Kiera smiled. She slid her hands up Motoko's arms, gently brushing the cloth with her palms. She rested her hands on her shoulders, her thumbs barely touching the back of the other's neck. Motoko had stiffened under her touch, so Kiera guided her into the recently vacated seat. "How rude of me. Please, have a seat." She tossed her trench coat onto the desk.  
  
"You know, you're pretty tense right now. How about a massage?" Kiera began squeezing and massaging Motoko's shoulders slowly. She wore an extremely broad and wicked grin.  
  
Applying enough pressure, it was just this side of painful; just the way the swordswoman liked it. "Mmmm." She shifted her shoulders under the hands and froze. 'Hold on, what am I doing?' Her body seemed to be ignoring her mind and leaned against that hands that were doing delightful things to stiff muscles.  
  
"So, that feels good I take it?" A voice drifted by her ear, the breath warm on her neck.  
  
"Mmm, very." Motoko responded automatically without thinking. Her eyes closed, as she wondered what she was still doing here. Slowly, she moved her hands up and touched Kiera's, making her stop.  
  
She paused when Motoko touched her hands and let them drop away. The samurai rose to her feet, wearing a closed expression. Sparing one glance at Kiera, she ran out without another word.  
  
"Shit. What did I do now?" Kiera blinked.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kitsune reclined on the couch in her room, a bowl of sake in her hands. She had snuck upstairs shortly after the pair of swordswomen had disappeared upstairs. She never got as drunk as everyone thought, otherwise how would she be able to act out her devious plans? At the moment though, her thoughts were concerned about one thing, the potential couple: Kiera and Motoko.  
  
"Hmm, after what I saw, there's no doubt about them being attracted to each other." She took another sip of sake, her fox like eyes narrowing even more. "But our little Kendo Girl's 'traditional' upbringing gets in the way. Consciously, she'd never accept liking another girl, it took her forever to come to terms about admitting of being fond of Keitaro." She mused. "I need them to do something that would set them off against each other, like a bet or something."  
  
She stared into the bowl, hoping it would give her an idea. Her reflection stared back as one came to her. "I got it, maybe Motoko's older sister can help, what was her name again? Oh yeah, Tsuruko!"  
  
She had gotten to her feet and started pacing back and forth, careful not to spill her drink. "Yeah, last time she tried to marry Keitaro and Motoko if they didn't beat her. A little overly serious, but open minded and fair from what I heard. After all, she did suggest Motoko find someone who she could relate to when she picked her up earlier this summer." Her pacing slowed as her mind toyed with an idea. "But is she open minded enough to deal with her sister liking another woman?" She took another sip of the sake. 'What to do, what to do.' She thought to herself as she resumed her pacing and plotting.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A/N: Yeah, not quite up to par, I know. And short, too. Finals week just clogged my juices. No, not like that! I meant my creative juices. :-) The whole ending is a little weak. Sorry about the delay too. Anyway, I promise not to make any more excuses. The next chapter will be way better, complete with another new character and Tama-chan! Think of this chapter as an interlude, a little in-depth explanation of what happened afterward. Oops, didn't I say no more excuses? *bonks self* Now I'm off to go cram, later!  
  
UPDATE 6/27/03: I really wasn't happy with this chapter, it felt kinda incomplete. Not the good kinda incomplete either, the in-the-middle-of-a- sentence-and-you-lose-your-thread kind of incomplete. So I added a little Kitsune plotting on the end and I'm more satisfied. It's not the best chapter I've written, but it's got a better ending to it. I'm still busting my butt trying not to turn chapter 7 into a smutfest, but I'm beginning to get annoyed by how it keeps getting drawn back to that. Anyway, I'm being dragged off to visit family next week (Noooo! I don't wanna go!!) and that'll put off updates (again! Bad me!) so please, forgive me. Make threats and I'll go even slower! Now, I'm out.  
  
-MindKore 


	8. Old Flames

BIG FREAKING DISCLAIMER: I don't own Love Hina, only Kiera. But I wish I owned Love Hina. *sigh*  
  
Anything in italics are thoughts. If I can get the italics to work. Or if they're like this: 'thought' and mentioned as a thought. Most of the time.  
  
Chapter 7 - Old Flames  
  
September drifted by and the days faded into October. A little more than a week before Halloween, in fact. It was dark and overcast, the clouds threatening to drop their loads on unsuspecting victims at any moment.  
  
An exhausted Kiera was leaving campus when she heard someone yell her name, and not in the way any hormonal young adult would want them to. The crowds pressing around her didn't let her see who the caller was.  
  
"Hey, Trinh! Kiera! Wait up!"  
  
The young American whirled around and spotted someone shoving through the crowd to get to her, a familiar redhead.  
  
'Christ, that better not be Naru.' She groaned inwardly. The redhead managed to disentangle herself from the crowd and came face to face with Kiera.  
  
"Angela?!"  
  
The British girl arrogantly tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I'm surprised you know who I am." She sniffed. "You've never called and told me where you went while I was visiting my father."  
  
"Fine, Morgan. I'll see you around then." Kiera said coldly. Before she could take a step away, an arm slipped through hers and held fast.  
  
"It's Angela. Morgan is my last name Kiera, or did you forget that?" She casually tugged on Kiera's arm. "Come on, I was just kidding around."  
  
She gave in to the tugging and allowed herself to be turned. Kiera smiled and took in the sight of a familiar face like a breath of fresh air.  
  
The lithe British girl was built perfectly, a shock of shoulder-length red hair, the darkest emerald-green eyes one could find outside of cats, and a body like a goddess. Dressed in a midnight blue trench coat, form-fitting black jeans, and a blood-red blouse, it was easy to get distracted by her body. "See? You can never stay mad at me." Angela grinned slyly. Grabbing her shirtfront with a free hand, she pulled Kiera down from her 5'4 for a kiss.  
  
Instinctively, she kissed back for a moment before pulling away. "Damn it, how many times do I have to tell you? I'm not interested in you." Kiera sighed.  
  
"Oh really? I seem to recall one hot August night. You remember, don't you? The night before I left." Her hand had released the other's shirt and was idly tracing patterns on the front of it.  
  
Kiera blushed. "You got me drunk!" Staring down into those green orbs, it was hard to believe that someone standing only at 5'2 could be so intimidating. She stopped and glanced around; people were staring at the both of them. A few guys were trying to control their bloody noses. "This conversation is not fit for public consumption!" she hissed as she walked away quickly, dragging Angela with her.  
  
"Planning to drag me off to your sex dungeon? Well, I'm game."  
  
"Shut up."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"So. How have you been?" Angela still had Kiera's arm entwined with her own. She was drawing the fingers of her free hand slowly up and down her arm.  
  
"Fine, you? How did you find out I was in Japan? Where are you staying at?" She asked as she shifted around in the train seat. A one and a half hour train ride back to Hinata was not what she wanted to deal with at the moment.  
  
"Well, to answer one question at a time. I'm fine, dear cousin Alex told me, and I'm staying with some relatives in Tokyo." She leaned in closer to Kiera. "See those two? Over there. They've been following us since we left campus." She whispered right in her ear.  
  
"Yeah, I've noticed. So what?" Kiera whispered back.  
  
"Bit suspicious, no?"  
  
"Maybe they just want to see something. I dunno."  
  
Angela smiled wickedly. "Well, then. Who are we to deny our fans?" She grabbed Kiera's shirtfront again and pulled her over for another kiss.  
  
"HINATA HOT SPRINGS. HINATA HOT SPRINGS." The loud announcement over the speakers interrupted them as the train screeched to a stop. From the corners of their eyes, they saw several males suffering from varying degrees of nosebleeds, including the pair that was following them.  
  
"Oh look, it's our stop." Kiera smirked, using her free hand to push Angela backwards on to the seat. She stood up and pulled her arm out from her grasp.  
  
"You know I like it rough." Angela grinned up from the seat and held out a hand. "But let's try and save it for later."  
  
Kiera grabbed her hand and pulled her off the train. "There won't be a later. Trust me."  
  
Silently, the two men stepped off after them, their nosebleeds stopped with bits of napkins.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Are those two still following us?" Angela leaned closer to the American. Because of the stalkers, she had gotten a tour around Hinata, courtesy of Kiera.  
  
"Yeah, and I'm beginning to get annoyed." She squeezed her hand into a fist. "Come on, time to end this stupid game." Above them, the sky rumbled, seemingly in agreement. Kiera ducked into a darkened nearby alley, jerking Angela along after her.  
  
"Here," she pressed a folded knife into the Brit's hand.  
  
An evil grin spread across Angela face. "Now for some fun."  
  
"Oh, grow up." Kiera was smirking just as evilly as she twirled a second knife in her right hand. "Duck back there." She waved over to the partially hidden doorway.  
  
Two heavy sets of footsteps approached them. "Hey, where'd they go?"  
  
"Dunno. Saw them come down here like you."  
  
The taller one swatted at the other. "Then look for 'em. They looked like the types we can have a little fun with."  
  
"Ya know, this is a bad idea. What if we get caught?"  
  
"Whose gonna find out?" He rubbed his hands together.  
  
WHAM! "Well, not the cops, that's for sure." Kiera held a fist up, an unfolded knife blade glittering in her grasp.  
  
The poor man held his hands out in penance. "We didn't mean nothin' by it. It was all his idea!" He pointed at the unconscious man on the floor as he backed away. Right into Angela.  
  
"Well, hello there." She drew a finger down along the side of his face when he spun around to face her. He scurried backwards, bumping into Kiera, who was suddenly much closer. He twisted around to face her instead. With his back exposed, Angela naturally took the opening to drive her fist into the back of his head. Managing only a grunt, he collapsed to his knees and fell over. She had a faint look of disgust on her face as she stared at the second unconscious form. "So, what do we do now?" She handed the knife back to Kiera.  
  
Their eyes met at the exact moment as they came up with the same idea. "Strip 'em." Both were grinning wickedly as they undressed their stalkers. The pair examined every item removed from the pockets and dumped the clothes into the dirtiest dumpster back there. Both wallets had been tossed on the floor while the two girls hogtied the unconscious males with their belts.  
  
"Oh man, they're broke." The pair of wallets followed the clothes into the dumpster. Kiera kicked the various items under the trashcan.  
  
"That little scuffle left me turned on, how about you?" Angela had an amused sort of look in her eyes.  
  
"Yeah, I know how you feel." Kiera replied without thinking. "Erm, shit," she blushed. "Uh, don't you have to be getting back home?" She attempted to change the topic, her face still flushed.  
  
Angela looped an arm through Kiera's again. "No, I think we were still discussing how turned on we are." Forcibly, she dragged her friend out of the alley just as it began to drizzle. "Bloody hell, it's starting to rain."  
  
"Gee, I didn't notice." She rolled her eyes. "Come on, we'll have to go to my place then."  
  
"Oh, is that how turned on you are?"  
  
"Do you want to get wet?"  
  
Angela smiled and kissed her cheek. "At this point, it can't be helped." She winked suggestively.  
  
"That's not what I meant!" The pair made their way through the light foot traffic.  
  
"Well, I don't know what you're thinking about. I was talking about the rain."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The light drizzle had become a downpour by the time they arrived at the Hinata House. Kiera stopped. "Wait, before we go in I should tell you not to mention something. My fellow tenants don't know about me."  
  
"They don't know what about you? That you're bisexual?" Angela tilted her head to one side, looking distinctly bird-like in the motion.  
  
"Shh!" She held a finger up to her lips. "Not so loud."  
  
"What? I'm also a bisexual and I'm not afraid to tell the world."  
  
"Yeah, well. You don't live in an all-girls dorm."  
  
Angela raised an eyebrow. "With a communal bath too?"  
  
"Yes," she noticed the Brit's expression. "But I take showers, so don't get any ideas."  
  
She sighed dramatically. "Must you make everything so difficult?" She thought for a second. "Unless, you already have a crush on someone here!" She grinned triumphantly.  
  
Kiera sweatdropped. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!"  
  
"Aha! So you do have a crush! You're being far too defensive!" The wind began to pick up and Angela shivered. "Is there any way we can continue this inside? I'm soaked."  
  
"Yeah, you already told me." The American slid the door open.  
  
"Pervert." She whacked Kiera on the shoulder. "That's not what I'm talking about and you know it."  
  
"So what? Are you the only one allowed to be perverted?" The pair slipped inside and Kiera closed the door behind them. They managed to get their shoes and backpacks off before Kitsune ambushed them.  
  
"Hey, just the American I wanted to see!" Kitsune appeared, a can a beer clutched in one hand. "Oh, hello. And who might you be?" She set the can of beer down on the table as she passed. "Well, that doesn't matter right now. Here, lemme help you out of those wet coats." They reluctantly handed their trench coats over to her and, in return, she gave them each a large, fluffy white towel. "I'll go hang these in the washing room. And Kiera, don't go anywhere." She winked and disappeared as fast as she came.  
  
"That was weird." Kiera blinked as she dried herself off.  
  
"Judging by how well I know you, I know you don't have a crush on her. Or rather, I hope you don't." Angela nudged her with her elbow.  
  
"I told you, I don't have a crush. I swear woman, you are deaf sometimes." She shook her head.  
  
"Maybe a little deaf from your screams all those months ago." The Brit grinned cheekily.  
  
She blushed. "I don't scream, but you do. Loudly too, I might add." She shot back.  
  
"I thought you were too drunk to remember." Angela said, blushing quickly.  
  
"I said I was drunk, I never said I didn't remember." she smirked.  
  
"Remember what?" Kitsune reappeared out of nowhere, carrying a notebook in her hands.  
  
"Nothing, just a pair of friends reminiscing," Kiera gave Angela a look. "Let me introduce a good friend of mine, Angela Morgan. Angela meet Kitsune."  
  
"Hello," she nodded to Kitsune.  
  
"Hey," She turned back to face Kiera. "So, who are you betting on tonight? Su, Shinobu, and the others already placed their bets." She opened the notebook, her pen poised to write.  
  
"Um," she wrapped the towel around her shoulders. "Naru, in the hot springs."  
  
"How much?"  
  
"Twenty bucks."  
  
She scribbled something down in kanji. "Ya know, if you're gonna study in Japan, you should, at least, learn about the currency."  
  
Kiera shrugged. "I can get by well enough."  
  
"Whatever, it's your money." Kitsune grabbed her beer and plopped down on the couch.  
  
"Bet?"  
  
"Yeah, we got this really clumsy manager who always gets caught peeping or whatever. Kitsune and I decided to use this to make money betting on who and where."  
  
"I take it your manager is a lesbian."  
  
She shook her head. "It's a guy."  
  
"I thought this was an all-girls dorm."  
  
"It is."  
  
"Then, why is a man the manager of a girl's dorm?"  
  
"I dunno, they never wanted to tell me." Kiera picked up her backpack. "Are you going to head back or do you want to come up to my room?  
  
"Your room? I thought you weren't interested in me." Angela smiled innocently. The storm outside thundered in the background.  
  
"You're free to leave, I'm not stopping you." She paused, a foot on one step of the stairs. Lightning flashed and the room echoed with thunder.  
  
"On second thought, maybe I'll join you." She crossed the room quickly.  
  
"Kiera, are you home already?" A voice called from the kitchen.  
  
"Yeah Shinobu. Is there something you need?" The American called back, sparing a glance at Angela.  
  
"Just reminding you that dinner is at six." The master chef replied from the kitchen.  
  
"Hey, do you mind setting an extra spot at the table? A good friend of mine just dropped by for a visit and study session," Angela opened her mouth to protest and shut it after another glare from her friend. "And I'm sure she'll stay for dinner."  
  
"No problem."  
  
"Thanks." She grabbed the redhead by the arm and dragged her upstairs.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Upstairs, in front of Kiera's room.  
  
"Hey! You didn't even ask me if I was going to stay for dinner!" The Brit punctuated the last bit with a stomp.  
  
Kiera rolled her eyes. "Fine," she slid the door open. "Going to stay for dinner?"  
  
The redhead stopped in mid-tirade. "Um, yes, I'd love to stay for dinner."  
  
"Well then, problem solved." She stepped aside and executed a mock bow, waving to the door. "Welcome to my humble abode."  
  
Angela carefully stepped through the doorway, taking in the features of the room. A normal, if rather large, desk to the right of the entrance of the doorway, a closed, sliding door leading to a closet on the left, and a large, gray rug in the middle of the floor with a kotatsu on it. You know, one of those low, heated tables. A wide, bay window was directly across from the door and a partition over to the side partially blocked off the view of a bed and balcony. "Cozy, but why all black?" she asked, taking a few more steps into the room and dropping her bag against the desk near the door.  
  
The other padded in silently after her. "What's wrong with black? Besides, not everything is black." She waved at the rug with one hand as she slid the door shut. Her backpack followed Angela's. "Hey, where'd this table come from?" Taped to the kotatsu was a note with her name written on it. Kiera plucked it off the table and unfolded it. Her eyes skimmed over the letter.  
  
"What does it say?"  
  
"Oh, the landlord found it cleaning out the attic," she smirked. "He figures I should be a genuine Tokyo U student like him and study at that instead." She crumpled up the note and tossed it into the wastebasket by her desk. The dark wood of the kotatsu matched the décor in the room at the very least. Sitting in the middle of the table was a green turtle shell. She prodded it cautiously with a finger. Suddenly, out popped a little yellow head and limbs. "Myuh!" it cried and flew out the open window.  
  
"Well, that was certainly something you don't see everyday," Angela commented.  
  
"No kidding." Kiera still stared out the open window. She felt hands come to rest on her shoulders. They spun her around and quickly slammed her down onto the low table. "Hey! Ow! What gives?" The back of her head had hit the table first and throbbed painfully. Surprisingly, the table bore the hit without so much as a creak.  
  
Angela was on all fours above her, not quite straddling her stomach. Her hands pinned Kiera's wrists to the table. "Do you know how long I wanted to do that?" She looked down into the eyes of the one below her and found surprise, and under that, arousal.  
  
"Oh no, tell me. How long?" She goaded the redhead with a smile tugging at her lips, dark humor filling her eyes.  
  
The same dark smile was reflected in her expression. "Long enough."  
  
Dark orbs stared into emerald ones. "What do you think-"  
  
She smiled wickedly and captured her lips with hers. Months of pent-up hormonal frustrations had taken its toll on the young woman's self-control and sanity.  
  
Eyes glowered at each other as tongues battled for supremacy. The pair broke apart, panting in unison. A distinct, but low growl could be heard.  
  
"Are you purring?!" Angela stared down at Kiera.  
  
In response, she bared her teeth and did it again.  
  
She smiled in return, baring her own fangs at the one pinned beneath her. "We have to keep that going," she lowered her mouth to the other's neck. Teeth nipped and sucked at a patch of tanned skin. The form beneath the fangs tensed and shuddered under the attentions, shifting slightly for a better position. She drew back, absolute pleasure painted across her features. Left in her wake, a dark red mark that would come to be a promising hickey if the flesh didn't heal so fast.  
  
Instead of saying, "Get off of me" what came out was "How come you're on top?" Kiera purred and attempted to push her off in the same breath. Or rather, in one of many self-same breaths.  
  
"Nuh uh," she tsked, shaking her head. "I was here first. And now, your punishment for trying to escape." Angela lowered her head and managed to undo the first button on the other's top with her teeth. She breathed slowly over the newly exposed skin.  
  
She renewed her struggles to get free, even if they were half-hearted. The hands pinning her wrists down loosened as the mouth traveled lower and lower, undoing buttons along the way. The hands slid off her wrists halfway down the shirt, but she didn't notice much.  
  
The mouth and breath reached the end of the shirt and she felt something tug at the button of her jeans. "Oh no you don't," Kiera could only growl at this point. She reached down and seized Angela's shirt by the collar. With a quick jerk, the pair was once again face-to-face, only this time with less cloth in the way. "Let's keep this above the waist." With that said, she gave in to the urge to kiss her or at least viciously ravage her lips.  
  
They made out furiously, Angela's hands getting to where they shouldn't have been. Kiera pushed her off gently. "Didn't I say above the waist?" She purred, rolling them both over. Amazingly, they didn't roll off the table, but now dark-haired one was on top. She straddled her hips and her hands pinned the other one's wrists down. She held her body above the other's, stretched over in a dominating position, her long braid hanging to one side. Her shirt fluttered, betraying her stillness and exposing the black bra underneath.  
  
Someone knocked loudly at the door, shattering the moment. "What?" Kiera snarled and twisted to face the door, their little game forgotten.  
  
"Hey, food's done. Are you coming down?" Kitsune asked from the other side.  
  
"Oh, you wouldn't believe how far down I'm goin'." She muttered under her breath as she turned to face her captive again.  
  
"What was that?" The door opened a crack. "I'm coming in, alright?"  
  
"What?! I mean, don't! Uh, I'm not decent!" She practically leapt off her 'victim'.  
  
Angela grinned. "I think everyone knows that by now." She snickered as she rolled off the table. She ducked when her friend took a swipe at her head.  
  
The door was already opened about a quarter of the way before it stopped. "Okay, then I'll see ya downstairs." The sound of footsteps retreated down the hall.  
  
She stared at the partially open door, counting what little blessings she had left. Arms slid around her, toying with the open shirtfront. "Want to skip dinner?"  
  
Annoyed, she slipped out of their grasp. "No. Are you done pushing my buttons yet?" Her nimble fingers re-buttoned her shirt closed as she stayed out of reach of the redhead. "I guess I am, for now. Just promise me we'll go on a run later."  
  
"A run? But it's so populated here, and it's, uh, raining." She protested weakly.  
  
"Since when have you been worried about people? Or rain? Come on, it's just one bloody run. Please?" Angela pleaded.  
  
Kiera could feel her resistance crumbling, she hadn't really been out like that since August and the idea was far more appealing than homework. "Fine, I'll go." She sighed dramatically.  
  
She gave her a wicked smile. "Good, now it's time for dinner. I hope all your fellow residents are as interesting as Miss Kitsune." Grabbing Kiera by wrist, she pulled her out of the room.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Back downstairs, Dining Room.  
  
Everyone stopped when Angela and Kiera walked into the room, arm in arm. Motoko stared at them, envy and jealousy welling up from somewhere in her subconscious. 'What happened to you don't feel that way about her?' A little part of her brain taunted. 'Of course I don't feel that way about her! She can associate with whoever she wants!' she thought to herself. Still, automatically, she felt an extreme dislike toward the new redhead.  
  
Kitsune's eyes widened noticeably. 'Wha? Arm in arm? What happened to Motoko? Uh oh, I gotta set the plan into motion!' she thought furiously, her expression betraying her thoughts. She looked at the floor, her brain going a mile a minute.  
  
Su broke the silence with a blunt question, "Who are you?"  
  
"Okay people, let me introduce a good friend of mine, Angela Morgan. Angela, you've already met Kitsune, so let me introduce you to Naru, Keitaro, Su, Shinobu, and last, but certainly not least, Motoko." Kiera gestured to each of the people in turn, saving a smirk for Motoko. She pulled her arm free from the death grasp the redhead had it in and lightly nudged her in the ribs.  
  
"Um, hi." Angela gave a little nod to each person. Already her mind was focused on analyzing the people to find out who was her friend's crush. "So, which one of these lovely specimens do you have the 'hots' for?" she leaned in and whispered in Kiera's ear, her breath triggering a mini-shudder as it drifted along.  
  
To the immense shock and disbelief of everyone, Kiera blushed, not just a little blush they occasionally saw, but a full blown one. Motoko felt another twinge of jealously and Kitsune nearly dropped the plate she was holding. 'How did she get that kind of blush out of our sarcastic and generally evil fellow resident?' was collectively thought by everyone in the room, save Kiera and said newcomer.  
  
Over the course of the meal, Angela examined everyone carefully, considering what she knew about her friend and what she could observe about the others. Her talent for reading people was annoyingly accurate most of the time, but even she can be wrong. There wasn't much conversation made because of the atmosphere; it was more like a polite interrogation.  
  
It turns out Su constructed a bigger table to seat people more comfortably and hold the weight of all the food prepared, so people were seated with plenty of room to spare. Angela surreptitiously glanced around the table at the seating order. Keitaro and Naru were sitting across from them, talking amongst themselves. They were close, to her perceptive eyes, an in-the- closet couple and neither of them probable crushes for her friend.. 'He's not her type, and she's too, something. Not a good something either.' Her eyes continued their examination of the residents.  
  
Shinobu and Su sat a little ways away, but still on the same side as Naru. Her gaydar picked up that they were, indeed, a couple. The looks they gave each other hinted at it, not even the most retarded idiot could miss it. 'And yet, no one seems to have noticed.' she mused. 'Not them. Shinobu's far too innocent, and Su is too energetic.' She thought to herself, and her eyes moved on to Kitsune.  
  
Kitsune was sitting at the head of the table, listening and occasionally interjecting in Keitaro's and Naru's conversation. 'She's got potential. Good looks, nice body, and an interesting personality. Too bad it's not her.'  
  
Her glance fell upon Motoko. She was eating slowly, and looked like she was worlds away. She looked troubled, and every time she glanced at Angela her expression would become even more troubled.  
  
"We have a winner," she whispered quietly to herself. Mentally, she started making a mental note on all the qualities her American friend would find attractive. 'Swords, discipline, and she is rather beautiful. It's a pity she's not wearing something more flattering, that ensemble doesn't do her any justice. And yet, she's still delicate. And desirable.' She smirked as she made the connection. 'Well, they say opposites do attract.'  
  
"What was that?" Kiera asked, spoon halfway to her mouth.  
  
She leaned closer to her. "Do tell, are you attracted to Motoko?" Her lips barely brushed Kiera's ear, her breath drew another shudder from the poor American.  
  
Momentarily, she lost her train of thought for a second as her mind took her down fantasy road with brilliant ideas involving the aforementioned lips. She blinked and snapped back to reality, her blush returning double speed and at full strength. 'I need to get my mind of the gutter.' Kiera thought as her mouth made the automatic denial. "No way. She's a prude, and not my type."  
  
"Is that so?" Her hand slipped under Kiera's shirt.  
  
She set down her spoon and stood up quickly, making Angela pull her hand back to avoid being seen. "Um, Angela and I are gonna head back upstairs to study. We were in the middle of an important section." Mentally, she winced while the Brit gave her a sly look. 'Mental note, avoid innuendo.'  
  
Angela rose gracefully and so did Motoko. "Ahem," she cleared her throat to get their attention. "Would you mind assisting me with some of my homework then?" Motoko eyed Angela suspiciously, with masked jealously. The redhead simply grinned cheekily back at her, looping her arm through Kiera's.  
  
'Shit, shit, shit.' She swore mentally. "Of course not, Motoko. You're always welcome." She smirked, not even revealing her discomfiture. She tried to slide her hand out of Angela's grip. She pulled Kiera to her even tighter, making the samurai glare at her. "Dinner was wonderful." The redhead inclined her head to Shinobu. "My compliments to the cook."  
  
"Come on, let's go 'study'," The Brit's emphasis on the last word made the American roll her eyes as she was dragged out of the room without another word. Motoko frowned at her back and turned to Shinobu. "That was a wonderful meal." She bowed and followed after them.  
  
Everyone else stared after them, Kitsune hid a broad smile behind her napkin. Her plan might just work after all.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Back to Kiera's room... The three sat around the kotatsu, an uncomfortable silence permeating the atmosphere. Kiera stared down at her Literature book, chewing on the end of the pen she had in her hand. She couldn't concentrate on the words, and kept having that foreboding feeling something bad was going to happen. Missing the pen after a particularly hard bite, her teeth sank into the soft flesh inside her lower lip.  
  
"Fuck!"   
  
The pen sailed through the air, heading on a collision course with Motoko's ear. She knocked it away instinctively and looked up. Angela followed suit, setting down her pen and looking up at Kiera.  
  
Blood leaked out the corner of her mouth in a steady flow. It ran down her jaw, only to fall on the pages of her textbook. She ignored it, seemingly hell-bent on reading around the spots. Normally, her supernatural healing would take over, but she stopped it with conscious thought.  
  
The pair of women simply stared at her as blood continued to stain the pages.  
  
"Kiera?" Angela motioned to her mouth with a hand. "Do you want help with that?"  
  
Motoko spared a glance at the redhead and looked back to the American. "Yes, do you desire any assistance?" Her expression was questioning, and mildly curious.  
  
She sighed tiredly. "Yeah, give me something to clean this up, will ya?" She leaned back from the table, the blood flow tapering off. She licked her lips slowly, spreading the fluid around, and completely unaware of the attention she was getting from the others.  
  
"I've got just the way to get rid of it." Angela smiled slyly. She leaned over, grabbed Kiera by the collar, and kissed her. Licking and sucking, she savored the bitter, metallic bite of the blood. The one being 'cleaned off' didn't mind too much, until she remembered Motoko was in the room also.  
  
She froze as her jaw dropped and jealousy flared up immediately, providing fuel for her anger. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" She screamed. In one quick movement, she had pried Angela off Kiera and threw the Brit to the floor roughly.  
  
The redhead looked up from the floor, emerald fire flashing in her eyes. "I could ask you the same thing," she sneered as she climbed to her feet with fluid grace. Motoko had risen to her feet also, and the pair stared each other down. She sneered and shoved the swordswoman roughly, sending her stumbling back a step or two. Motoko recovered quickly, and the pair resumed their glaring.  
  
"Hold that thought." Kiera got to her feet quickly with the same animal grace. Without her controlling it, her lip stopped bleeding and healed quickly.  
  
The air was thick with the threat of violence, and she wanted to make sure that didn't happen. She stepped in between the both of them, pushing them apart, and using the opportunity to squeeze Motoko's breast. Accidentally, of course, but still, the samurai blushed like there was no tomorrow. "Come on, back up. That's it, step away from each other." She managed to push them an arm's length away from each other, with her hands, conveniently, still touching their chests. 'Must not grope. Must not grope.' She thought repeatedly to herself as a mantra. Her thoughts derailed again, and she had to bite her tongue to get back to reality.  
  
"Um, Motoko? Maybe you should go study by yourself. Me and Angela have a lot of catching up to do, you know?" She held her breath as she waited for the reply.  
  
The swordswoman's face was still red as she nodded curtly. "Of course. After all, you are just friends." She scooped up her books while glaring at Angela. She stomped out of the room, giving her one last dirty look.  
  
"Did you have to do that?" Kiera sighed and sat back down.  
  
"Do what? She started it."  
  
"Well, what the hell were you expecting? I asked for something to clean up the blood and you go and kiss me!"  
  
She leaned over and touched a finger to the American's lips. "What are you complaining about? You're clean now, aren't you? Besides, I didn't hear you telling me to get off when I kissed you."  
  
"Yeah, well, it's a little hard to talk while we're attached mouth-to- mouth."  
  
"You Yanks are so picky." Angela mock-frowned. "Well, time to go on that run you owe me."  
  
"But, it's still raining." She glanced at the window to her left. The storm had stopped for the moment, but it was still overcast, blocking the view of a waxing half-moon.  
  
"I think you might want to try another excuse." She began to tap her foot against the floor, an irritated expression crossing her features. Only her eyes gave away the truth; she didn't bother hiding the amusement in them.  
  
"URASHIMA! YOU VILE LECHEROUS MALE! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" An angry voice screamed from somewhere downstairs. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?! GET BACK HERE!"  
  
"AAAAHHHH! I'M SORRY MOTOKO!" A male voice answered in an impossibly screechy tone.  
  
Kiera covered her face with her hands and shook her head. "You know, that run sounds really good right now." She muttered without looking up. "Um, but let's go out the roof."  
  
Arching an eyebrow, she nudged the American with her foot. "What is that all about?"  
  
"Our perverted landlord. He gets his comeuppance most of the time. It's better if you don't know." Was all she offered as a reply as she got to her feet. "Come on, roof's this way." She had opened the door and waved vaguely down the hall.  
  
"Won't your housemates know you're gone?" Angela walked past her and leaned against the wall.  
  
"Nah, they won't even notice." The pair crept down the hall, making as little noise as possible as they headed up the stairs.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Roof, the landing.  
  
"Uh, you can go first." Kiera looked up balefully at the cloudy sky. In her hands, she kept playing with a canvas bag, zipping and unzipping it repeatedly.  
  
Angela nodded, and began to strip slowly. Off came her shirt, and soon after her pants and undergarments followed. In moments, she stood naked, exposed to the elements, the dim light shimmering off her pale skin.  
  
The American warred with the urge to stare or not to stare. Automatically, she shoved the clothes into the bag when they were handed to her. She decided to give in to the urge for once and watched Angela.  
  
The young Brit succumbed to the change, the primal energy running through her veins. Her flesh shifted as bones rearranged, fur sprouting from her skin. Steam rolled off her form in clouds, momentarily shrouding her, as her body temperature rose to accommodate the change humming through her. She fell to all fours and shook herself off.  
  
Where a human once stood, was one of the long-forgotten dire wolves of a past age. Massive jaws, paws, and generally larger than an average human or wolf, it was once one of humanity's few predators. Dark reddish fur covered her body and emerald eyes glittered in the blackness of the night as she padded over to the dark-haired girl. She nudged her friend lightly in the ribs with her snout, and seized her a belt loop of jeans in her jaws, giving a little tug.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I'm going," She quickly stripped off all her clothing and stuffed it into the bag. She shivered as she dropped the bag on the floor after zipping it up. Angela the wolf took the opportunity to stick her nose right where it wasn't supposed to be.  
  
"Hey!" She yelped, shoving the massive beast's head away from her. Taking a deep breath, Kiera submitted to the change running through her blood silently calling out to the night. Steam boiled off her, enveloping her in an almost ethereal mist, hanging in the air before dissipating. In mere moments, a second dire wolf had appeared in her place. With a pelt blacker than the night surrounding them, she glanced around suspiciously and sniffed the air. Her eyes, instead of remaining dark, had changed to reflective amber. After a few well-placed nips to the nape of the red wolf, she padded over to the edge and looked down. It was a rather long fall, but she could handle it with little trouble.  
  
Tilting her head back, the dark furred wolf loosed a wild howl of joy and leapt off the roof. With a sharp bark, the red one followed suit, easily clearing the nearby trees and landing as soundlessly. The dark one nipped at her flanks, and the pair took off into the night.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
By the time they had gotten back, it was almost midnight. They had spent more than 2 hours running around, not to mention scaring several people taking a walk.  
  
Since it was too late to return to her own place in Tokyo, Angela quickly fell asleep in Kiera's bed without another word. Clad in only a nightshirt, much to the American's annoyance.  
  
"I'm beat," she yawned as she stretched at the foot of her bed. Her muscles would be sore tomorrow, especially since she hadn't gone on a run like that for months. She yawned again as she grabbed a towel out of her closet. "Maybe a nice soak in the hot springs will be good." 'Gods know I rarely go there as it is.' She chuckled to herself as she silently walked downstairs.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Inside Motoko's room.  
  
The young samurai's eyes kept unfocusing as she tried to re-read the text. 'I can understand why Naru's eyes are so bad now.' She thought to herself tiredly as she rubbed her own. She leaned back to stretch the muscles that had cramped in her neck and back when she had been bent over, reading her textbook.  
  
Wearily, she glanced at the clock Urashima had given to her two Christmas' ago, it was close to midnight. She had been studying for her English midterm for a good 2 hours since she had left Kiera's room. She frowned when she thought of that annoying redhead again. 'Perhaps a soak in the hot springs will relax me.' She thought as she cleaned up her books.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A/N: Okay ladies, presenting. . . drum roll, please. . . Chapter 7! Don't ask where I was going with this, 'cause I have no idea. It was really fun to write though. Oh, sorry about the delays, I actually spent the last couple of days trying to think up a decent title for this. The whole chapter basically skips around, capturing little instances in poor Kiera's life. But let's not get down, I've got a special guest for tonight: Ms. Angela Morgan!  
  
Angela: (gagged and tied to a chair) Mmmppphhh!!  
  
MindKore: Say again?  
  
Angela: MMMPPHH! (starts rocking the chair around)  
  
MindKore: Whoops, my bad. You're still gagged. (reaches over and pulls off ball gag)  
  
Angela: YOU STUPID BLOODY WANKER! WHEN I GET OUT OF THIS- (gag is shoved back into her mouth)  
  
MindKore: Heh heh, maybe I should let her cool off first.  
  
Angela: MMMMMPPPPHHHH!  
  
MindKore: Awww, isn't that cute? She's trying to communicate.  
  
Angela: (somehow manages to get the gag off) YOU LITTLE BITCH! UNTIE ME RIGHT NOW OR I'LL MAKE YOU WISH YOU WEREN'T BORN! (starts rocking the chair around again)  
  
MindKore: Eh heh. KIERA! COME AND GET YOUR PLAYTHING!  
  
Kiera: (walks into the room) What the hell do you want now? And why is she tied up? (looks at Angela with interest)  
  
Angela: Untie me, will you?  
  
Kiera: (unties her) Who tied you up to begin with?  
  
MindKore: Oh, shit. Um, I gotta go. (starts edging toward the door)  
  
Angela: (smiles evilly) Oh no you don't. (pulls a whip out of nowhere and cracks it)  
  
Kiera: (looks at MindKore) This won't end well. . . (smirks)  
  
(fades to black)  
  
Angela: (cracks whip) Now whose my bitch?! (laughs manically)  
  
Kiera: (muttering) Thank the gods it's not me anymore, I get Motoko. (pulls out her knives) But that doesn't stop me from having a little fun!  
  
MindKore: Help ME!!!!  
  
More A/N: In case my friend should find this: No, I did not use you as an example for Angela. Okay, maybe I did, but you can't prove anything! Now, opinion time! Any Truth or Dare requests you want to make? Otherwise I'll be stuck doing them for the Halloween Party chapter. Next chapter: One naked Kiera plus one naked Motoko in the hot springs (at the same time!) and some other 'fun' encounters following. (thinks naughty thoughts) Oh, and my thanks go to said friend as well, she helped me with this. Uh oh, I think I hear Angela coming back, I gotta get the hell outta here! Until later!  
  
Angela: Bitch! What do you think you're doing?!  
  
MindKore: Uh, nothing? (runs for it)  
  
-MindKore 


	9. Naked Encounters

BIG FREAKING DISCLAIMER: I don't own Love Hina, only Kiera. But I wish I owned Love Hina. *sigh*  
  
Anything in italics are thoughts. If I can get the italics to work. Or if they're like this: 'thought' and mentioned as a thought. Most of the time.  
  
Chapter 8 - Naked Encounters  
  
Steam. In a hot spring or jacuzzi at night, it exists right above the hot water but under the cold night air, floating around with no purpose. Which is why it is cool to take hot baths at night.  
  
Kiera sat in the hot springs, slight breezes blowing an unusual amount of steam around, obscuring her vision half the time. Since she figured no one else was going to walk in, she sat in there, naked. Her towel was bunched up on the rocks behind her, serving as padding for her head while she leaned back, her long, unbraided hair fanning out behind her. The water only came up to right above her chest and she had her back to the door. "Oh man, this is the life," she sighed as she closed her eyes, relaxing comfortably in the hot waters.  
  
Motoko slid the door open and stepped inside. Steam whirled around her as she slid the door closed and made her way quietly into the water. Thinking she was the only one in there, she decided to remove the towel she had wrapped around her body and carried it neatly in her arms. 'Ahhh, this is heavenly after a long night of studying.' She thought as she waded through the waters slowly. Bumping into something, she stopped, and all of a sudden, the steam rolled away, revealing what she bumped into.  
  
"Kiera?!" She stared down at the younger dark haired girl sitting in the water, naked and apparently not noticing or caring Motoko was there. She simply stood there in complete surprise, not moving at all.  
  
Yawning, she cracked an eye open and looked up. "Oh, hey Motoko." She mumbled and closed the eye again, drifting off to whatever it was she was thinking about. Then she did a double take, both eyes popping open as she sat up straight. "Motoko?! What the hell are you doing in here?!" She mentally blanked for a moment when she saw that the swordswoman was also nude.  
  
"I could ask you the same thing!" She frantically tried to cover herself up with her hands, dropping her towel into the water. She sank into the water, hoping it would conceal her own nakedness while her mind couldn't help but noticing how attractive the other girl's body was.  
  
"Well, what the fuck does it look like? I was trying to relax when you screamed at me!" She snapped angrily. A naked Motoko so close to her didn't help her hormonal imbalance that the change brought out.  
  
Motoko blushed and glared at her, angry with herself for her own body's reaction to the American.  
  
She returned the glare with a mocking parody of a grin, baring her teeth and growling almost inaudibly, deep in her throat.  
  
"Just so you know, you two are rather loud."  
  
The pair turned to see a naked Angela in the doorway. A dark blue towel was draped across her shoulders, hanging down and framing her breasts perfectly, immediately grabbed their attention. Steam swirled around her, both outlining and obscuring her slim form, making it more of a tantalizing view. "And I thought you said you didn't scream." She chided, smirking.  
  
The dark-haired women blushed brightly, neither noticing they were staring. Kiera's jaw opened and closed before she said anything. "I thought you were asleep!"  
  
"I was trying to sleep, but then I heard screaming coming from down here." She shrugged. "I was curious."  
  
She swallowed hard, trying to put moisture back into her dry throat. "Then why are you naked?"  
  
The redhead rolled her eyes at her American friend. "Well, am I supposed to bathe with my clothes on? Besides, you're nude as well." She flicked a finger in Motoko's direction. "And so is she." She took a step into the water.  
  
In a blink, Kiera's eyes shifted to the water line as the liquid slid up Angela's legs. Water glided up past her calves, knees, and finally her thighs in what seemed like slow motion. 'Thank gods that women don't have visible. . . whoa, let's not go there!'  
  
The redhead smiled to herself as she watched the pair of women stare at her legs. She kept her movements deliberately slow, knowing exactly the kind of effect she had. "Does anyone else think it's a little cold?" She asked, carefully hiding a smile.  
  
The others looked up at her, eyes widening. Their blushes returned in the time it takes to blink, even darker than before. Motoko sank deeper into the water and turned away, giving them her back, her face a fetching shade of red.  
  
Kiera crossed her arms over her chest, blocking her indicators of sexual arousal, otherwise known as nipples, from view. 'Spoke too soon.' She groaned to herself. "Ah, would ya look at the time?" She rose to her feet and tried to slip past her.  
  
"Where are you going? Why, we have all night, and this hot spring to ourselves. Unless you rather leave me and Motoko here, all alone?" She had an iron grip on the American's arm, a sly smile on her face as she forcibly pulled Kiera back to join Motoko.  
  
"Sit down." Reluctantly, Kiera obeyed, seeing as she couldn't get away. Angela sat right behind her on a convenient, flat rock, her hands resting lightly on the other girl's shoulders, almost looking like she was straddling her from behind.  
  
"So, eh, Motoko. Ever have feelings for anyone before?" The dark-haired American asked, attempting to break the silence. 'Why the hell did I ask that of all questions?!' She mentally berated herself.  
  
She didn't turn around to face them. "Yes, once."  
  
"Who?" She blurted out before she could stop herself. 'There I go again.'  
  
She chuckled humorlessly. "Whether you believe me or not, it was Urashima."  
  
"You're fucking serious?" She winced inwardly.  
  
She nodded, her back still to them. "Once. But not any longer." She half- turned to look at them, giving them her profile. She felt a little flare of jealously when she saw Angela holding on to the other. "I think I'll retire now. Good night." Her tone was short and clipped, concealing genuine anger as she rose to her feet. She left without saying another word.  
  
"What was that all about?"  
  
"You truly are a moron, you know that?"  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
"Because you're so bloody blind." She slowly wrapped her arms around Kiera. "Never mind that now. We've got this whole hot spring to ourselves." She growled, almost too quiet to hear. Her breath drifted past her ear, drawing a shiver from the dark-haired one. Angela's hands began migrating from resting against her ribs to tracing the skin below her breasts.  
  
She swallowed audibly and pulled away, grabbing her towel and getting to her feet. "It's late, and, uh, we've got class tomorrow. I'm turning in." Even with the towel in her hands, she made no move to cover up. "Coming?"  
  
"Not quite, maybe if you were to help?" She looked up at her, a seductive smile touching her lips. "If you were a real friend, you wouldn't mind, would you?" She emerged from the water in what appeared to be slow motion again, water sheeting off her body.  
  
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes or look in her direction, she kept them focused on the door. "I'm your friend, not a personal fuck toy." She glanced at her and nearly tripped over her own feet. She caught herself at the last moment before doing a faceplant into the water. "I meant to do that."  
  
"Sure." She held out a hand and Kiera pulled her to her feet.  
  
"I did."  
  
Rolling her eyes, she wrapped the towel around herself. "Whatever you say."  
  
"Yeah, whatever."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Inside Kiera's room.  
  
"So, who gets the bed?"  
  
The dark-haired American was dress in a loose white t-shirt and black shorts. Angela was in her nightshirt again, exposing an almost indecent amount of skin.  
  
"It's a queen-sized bed, you damn Yank. There's plenty of room for the both of us." Sitting down near the edge of the bed, she patted the space next to her. "I just want to ask one thing: did you ever hear of colors other than black?" She gestured to the black sheets and comforter.  
  
"What's wrong with black?" Kiera sighed at the question about her tastes in color. "I changed my mind. I think I'll sleep on the floor." She backed away slowly in the general direction of the closet.  
  
"Nonsense, there's plenty of room, like I said: queen-sized. Besides, we've slept together before, so what's the problem?" She had snagged her arm in a vice grip again and pulled her down onto the bed.  
  
She decided against fighting her. "Nothing, but how about we keep our hands to ourselves, ok? I'm exhausted." She rolled over to the right side of the bed, her alarm clock on the nightstand nearby.  
  
"Fine, no touching. I got it." She pouted for a moment and leaned over Kiera to turn off the bedside lamp.  
  
She stiffened when she felt part of Angela's anatomy brush past her cheek, and it wasn't her arm. "Night." She pulled the covers up.  
  
"Good night."  
  
The clouds were rolling away in some spots, faint moonlight streamed through the half-covered sliding glass doors that led to a small balcony. With her back to Angela, she watched motes of dust float along in the moonlight. Finally falling asleep, she didn't notice an arm slipping around her waist or the body pressed against her back.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Friday morning, Kiera's bed.  
  
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!  
  
Growling, she half-rolled over and stretched her arm out, slapping the alarm several times before hitting the snooze button, her eyes remaining determinedly closed.  
  
"Turn that shit off." A voice grumbled.  
  
As she was slowly waking up, she realized there was something warm pressed against her, another leg positioned in between her own. Blearily, she opened her eyes to find a mass of fiery red hair and a face two inches from her own. "Why the hell are you in my bed?"  
  
"We slept together, don't you remember?" The emerald green eyes opened a crack as she peered at her.  
  
Kiera's mind still wasn't processing things clearly. "Slept together?" Her right arm was underneath Angela's form, her hand was under her shirt, pressed against the warm skin of her back. Her left arm was hanging off the bed after bashing the alarm. She could feel a limb draped over her midsection.  
  
"Yes, all we did was sleep, don't worry." The redhead yawned. Her arm slid off the dark one's stomach and rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?"  
  
She glanced over at the illuminated green numbers on her alarm clock. "Six- seventeen."  
  
The redhead groaned. "Is the sun even up yet? Why the bloody hell is your alarm set to ring at six 'o' bloody-" Her complaint was cut off when a mouth had attached itself onto hers.  
  
'Well, at least that stopped her bitching.' She smirked mentally when she felt Angela start to kiss her back. Slowly, she drew back, grinning as emerald colored eyes opened followed with a wry smile directed at her. "Awake now?"  
  
"If everyone woke me up like that, I wouldn't mind mornings so much." She leaned forward planted a kiss on her collarbone. "In fact, I insist you use that technique more often." She continued to follow the path with nips and kisses. Her sensitive lips and tongue picked up a small, rough patch of skin just before the bone ended and dipped and started again on the left side. "What's this?" She examined the spot closely and saw a faint scar of a bite mark.  
  
"A scar, what else does it look like?" Her body twitched slightly in protest of the loss of delicious sensation.  
  
"Kinky, who gave it to you?"  
  
"You."  
  
She scooted backwards a little to get a clear look of her eyes. "Me? When?"  
  
"Remember last August?" She chuckled evilly.  
  
"You lie."  
  
"I swear," she raised her left hand. "I'm not."  
  
"How? Why don't I remember?"  
  
"You were a little, how shall I put it, preoccupied at the time." She held up her fingers and wiggled them, grinning lasciviously.  
  
"So I see how that would slip my mind," Not rising to the bait or blushing in the faintest, she leaned in, her sharp canines grazing the scar. "But even so, this isn't quite up to par for me. I mean, this scar is so light I almost missed it. I'm afraid I'll have to rectify it."  
  
She scooted backwards herself when she realized the tables had neatly been turned on her and nearly fell out of the bed. "I'm good, there's no need." Scrambling out from under the sheets, her amber-rimmed eyes and ebon mane wild and flaring around her head, made her look like a unique cross between human and animal. "Um, I'll just go and, uh, bye!" She took off, her footsteps quickly and almost silently padding away.  
  
The fiery haired beauty rolled onto her back and stretched out languidly while still lying on the bed, moving onto the warm spot Kiera had left behind. She yawned, looking catlike for a moment, and her eyelids fluttered shut, hiding her emerald orbs from view.  
  
"Hey, get up." A voice said, accompanied by gentle shaking to her shoulder. "Come on, ya already got 10 more minutes of sleep than me. Get up."  
  
"No." Her eyes remained firmly shut.  
  
Kiera stared down at the red haired woman still on her bed. What she hadn't noticed earlier on her rush to get to the bathroom and out of the bed, was her friend's rumpled appearance.  
  
Black sheets were twined around pale alabaster legs, providing a sharp contrast; the comforter was kicked off to the side, a corner being used as a pillow seeing as the original pillow was on the floor. The whole pale- skin-on-dark-sheets made her look like a fallen angel. Her fiery hair was an even darker, crimson color; her exposed flesh seemed an almost deathly white. The gray nightshirt she had worn to sleep had ridden up to right about where her breasts were, now showing off an indecent amount of skin and midnight blue panties.  
  
'Thank whatever god for that.' She amended as she did a once over of what was on the bed. She smiled wickedly as she was struck with a sudden idea. "Fine, but you made me do this." Moving so she was above her on all fours, she traced a long, wet trail with her tongue up her bare abdomen.  
  
She jerked, swinging her arm instinctively and knocking the dark haired girl off of the bed with a solid backhand. When she realized what she had done, she opened her eyes to look and jerked her shirt back down so it covered her correctly. "What the hell?"  
  
"Fuck!" While still on the floor, she rubbed her back and muttered under her breath.  
  
She slipped out of bed, careful to untangle the sheets from her so she wouldn't trip, then she tripped over Kiera. "Wha-!" Her hands hit the floor first, then the rest of her body, knocking the air out of her lungs.  
  
"Ha ha."  
  
"Sod off." She got to her feet and pulled her nightshirt down again so there wouldn't be any more accidental flashing. "Where's the bloody bathroom?" She snapped, her bad mood resurfacing.  
  
"Down the hall, first door on your left."  
  
Stopping only to grab her clothes, she stomped out of the room, muttering something about stupid Yanks.  
  
Kiera ran her fingers through her slightly more tamed, dark mane. Only clad in black jeans and a black bra, she got up and started searching around her room for her knives.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Meanwhile, in Motoko's room.  
  
Smoke wafted from the burning incense sticks on the altar. Motoko sat there in front of it, meditating and looking utterly serene at the moment. She had woken up at six 'o' clock precisely and had begun meditating on her thoughts from last night after cleaning up her room again. There were light circles under her eyes that said she hadn't gotten a very restful sleep the night before.  
  
'First things first. Now why do I feel that way every time I see her?' She tried to slow the tumult of thoughts that had prevented her from sleeping well the night before and send it in one direction. 'I've only felt. . . like that before around Urashima and never any of the other girls.' Immediately, she was granted an old memory of seeing Keitaro running around, clad in only a towel, chasing after Su, who has run off with his boxers, sometime after he had returned from America with Seta. At the time, she had clubbed him senseless, screaming about perverts.  
  
She felt her face burn when she remembered the incident and the secret thrill she had gotten out of seeing him shirtless. 'Back then, my hormones were easier to deal with, even if it was a crush on that weakling Keitaro, at least he was male!' Suddenly, she was in the grip of another old memory, it was back when Kanako had first made her appearance. Urashima's little sister had impersonated Naru and flirted with her, along with. . . other things. At that time, she had covered up what she felt with righteous indignation, but could now recall what she felt keenly. 'Maybe I have always been like this. . .'  
  
From the part of her brain that had been conditioned since she was a child, she could feel disgust bubbling up like bile. Hesitatingly, she pushed that possibility away. 'It's temporary.' She told herself. 'Later, I'll find myself a good husband, get married, and have children.' Suddenly, she was aware of the sneer on her face, wrinkling her nose like she had smelled something foul. For some reason, the thought didn't sit so well with her. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself not to sneer and stood up. 'Perhaps some morning exercises will help me sort things out and maybe a. . . talk with Kiera as well.'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ And off to Shinobu's room.  
  
Shinobu opened her eyes, still groggy, the world still seeming darkened and sleep-blurred. Her alarm clock sat on her dresser, buzzing impatiently, the luminous yellow numbers reading 6:15, the three-eyed symbol on it glowing and proclaiming it to be a Su manufactured product. The inventor of the item was still spooned around Shinobu, very much asleep.  
  
Not wanting to move out of Su's grasp, she stretched out a hand, only to find herself barely touching the face of it while the buzzing volume increased ever so slightly. Sighing in defeat, she started to squirm out of her girlfriend's rather crushing embrace so she could turn it off. With a small rush of air, something alighted on top of the alarm, conveniently hitting the snooze button and stopped the buzzing for a few minutes. After rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she squinted at the thing on her alarm, barely making out something greenish in the dim light. "Tama-chan?"  
  
"Myuh."  
  
From behind her, Su began to stir, limbs twitching, the arms encircling Shinobu squeezed even tighter. "Mmm, turtle. . ." She mumbled, a thin line of drool escaped from the corner of her mouth.  
  
"Auuu. . . Su, get up." The violet-haired girl gasped out as the air was slowly being crushed out of her lungs. "Can't. . . breathe. . ."  
  
Immediately, she felt the arms' embrace around her slacken. "Morning, Shinobu." A pair of lips pressed against the back of her neck. "Would you believe I had the strangest dream?"  
  
The girl in her arms started sucking in great lungfuls of air. "Good morning to you too." She replied as soon as she started breathing comfortably. "What was your dream about?" Wriggling around, she managed to turn all the way around to face her.  
  
"It was about turtles."  
  
A rather large sweatdrop appeared on the back of Shinobu's head. "You don't say."  
  
"Yeah, really weird too, like the kind I used to have when I was younger. I just caught Tama and was about to cook her. But she kept trying to get away." Su looked thoughtful for a moment. "I wonder what it means."  
  
Another giant sweatdrop appeared, joining the other one. "I don't know, maybe you should go look it up?"  
  
"I think I will!" She bounded out of bed, still buck-naked, her pajamas in a pile at the end of the bed.  
  
"Auuu! Su, wait!" Her girlfriend hesitated in getting out of bed, being butt naked herself.  
  
She paused, her hand on the door, ready to pull it open. "Yeah?"  
  
"You're still naked." A blush rose to her cheeks as she wrapped the bed sheets around herself.  
  
Looking down at herself, she was struck with a very lewd idea. "So I am." Nodding gravely, she approached the bed and Shinobu.  
  
"So-some clothes?" Holding out the pjs in supplication, she gulped nervously. Su could be insatiable once she got started.  
  
A rapacious smile in place, she tossed her blond hair over one shoulder with a shake of her head. "Maybe later." She stalked forward another step.  
  
"Now Su. . ." She inched backwards toward the bed. When her calves bumped against the mattress, she stifled a scream and jumped. Slipping on a part of the trailing sheet, she fell back onto the bed. "Wait a second. . ." She propped herself up on her arms.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I-I have to. . . to make breakfast!"  
  
Instantly, Su snapped back to normal so fast it would make people think she might have a split personality. "Okay! I'll go look up stuff about my dream!" With the speed a cheetah would envy, she dashed out the room, almost forgetting to open the door in her rush.  
  
"Su! Clothes!"  
  
She reappeared in the doorway. "Aww, don't want Keitaro to see what he missed out on?" The blond asked in a singsong voice. Then she started striking seductive poses.  
  
Shinobu stared, her eyes wide as if her brain was storing it all on memory. In a few more seconds, she'd start having a nosebleed like Keitaro, if she wasn't already that is. She balled up the pajamas and threw them, hitting her girlfriend square in the face.  
  
"SU!!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ And moving on. . . Naru's room. . .  
  
Naru was slumped over her kotatsu, her face pressed to a pile of papers, red pen still clutched in her hand. She had been up late grading tests, being a part-time tutor and substitute teacher was hard, at least for her. In fact, papers of all kinds were littered all over the tabletop and most were unfortunately drooled on. The pen would've been making another large red splotch on an unfortunate Kenji Mekase's test if it hadn't dried out hours ago.  
  
Stirring from the uncomfortable position, her back screaming in pain, she leaned backwards slowly. Before slamming her pained back and head right into the unforgiving hardwood floor. "Owww. . ." Rubbing her head with one hand and her eyes with the other, she peered at the clock on the wall, barely able to make out the numbers before she realized her glasses were still glued to the table in a mixture of poor test grade papers and spit.  
  
"Ewww," she made a face as she pried them off and cleaned them with her slept-in sweater. Finally satisfied, she put them on and tried looking at the clock again. This time she fared better, she could clearly see the glowing green numbers that read 6:25. Leaning back, she tried to stretch out her cramped muscles, to no avail unfortunately. "Ooh, that hurts." Staggering around the room, she grabbed some clean clothes and bathing things and headed for the hot spring downstairs to soothe her aching back.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Proceeding on. . . Kitsune's room. . .  
  
The fox-eyed woman was crashed out on her couch, clothed in only a tight, gray tee and black panties. A large, red blanket was piled alongside the couch and a half-empty bottle of sake rested against it, her right hand still wrapped around the neck. In her left hand rested a cordless phone. The lesson of the evening she learned was that aimless plotting, alcohol, and searching for phone numbers don't mix well.  
  
In the most part, it left her half-drunk with the most absurd ideas someone can use to help two people realize they should become a couple. Like, calling one of said persons demented and overly dramatic older sister. Luckily, she had gotten far off track from the topic, being drunk and all.  
  
With a snore, she rolled over and off the couch, somehow not landing on the bottle of sake. "Oww, wha?" She looked around from her new position on the floor, dropping the phone and rubbing her eyes. From somewhere, a plastic cup fell and clipped her temple as she picked up her head. Sitting up, she groped from the lamp switch somewhere on the side table while knocking various items off. She turned on the lamp, its swift, brilliant flare blinding her since she had her head right by it.  
  
Wincing instinctively as the obscenely bright lights flooded her eyes, the hungover woman moaned and switched it back off. As she blinked away the sudden tears and glowy afterimage, she rose unsteadily to her feet. Rubbing her temples, the fox-eyed woman stumbled her way over to her dresser and closet. Digging around, she managed to find some clean clothes and undies. With a yawn, she lurched her way to the convenient and constant hot waters downstairs to cure her headache.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ In the hot spring, Keitaro . . .  
  
The manager was busy scrubbing the rocks in the hot springs since he didn't get a chance last night. Motoko had knocked him clean off of the property when he accidentally walked in on Su and Shinobu the previous evening.  
  
Even in the early hours of the morning, steam was rolling off the water and Keitaro had already peeled off his damp shirt. Wearing only a pair of shorts, he continued with the cleaning. 'I wonder if the girls have ever. . . done anything with each other in here.' He pondered as he poured more soap on the rocks. 'Shinobu and Su last night were pretty suspicious.' The violet-haired girl and the other foreigner had been acting very odd when he walked in, both blushing and giggling profusely. 'Su and Shinobu? I have got to get my mind out of the gutter!'  
  
With his back to the door, he focused all his concentration on scrubbing the rocks with an almost-insane fervor. Suddenly, he froze as he heard muffled voices talking behind the closed entryway.  
  
"Morning Kitsune, rough night?"  
  
"Not really, just a bad headache." The broom slipped out of his hands and landed with a loud bang. 'Crap!! It's Naru and Kitsune!' He thought frantically, eyes bugging out of his head. 'She's gonna kill me!!'  
  
"Hey, did you hear that?"  
  
"Hear what?" Snatching up the fallen broom and soap, he hurled it over the wall, nearly clipping himself on the head with the broomstick. 'Hide, gotta hide!!' He ran in circles, arms flailing, and looking like the comic relief from a cheap cartoon. 'Under the water!' He dove into the hot spring and hid behind some of the larger rocks to the side before he remembered what he had left on the floor.  
  
'My shirt!!' Ducking under the water, the unlucky klutz hoped the steam would cover him up as he doggy-paddled underwater over to where he had dropped his shirt on the rocks. A shapely leg suddenly plunged into the water before him and he stopped short of swimming into it. 'Crap!'  
  
Naru squinted at the object on the nearby rock; it didn't look much like a cleaning rag or towel. Picking it up, she realized it was a shirt and too large for most of the girls at the dorm, which left only one conclusion: Keitaro had recently been in the hot spring. "Wait, Kitsune, put your towel back on! That pervert might be in here!"  
  
"Owww, not so loud. What?" In response, the antenna-ed girl tossed the article of clothing in her friend's direction. "So what? It's one of Keitaro's shirt he - ohhh." Mischievous smile in place, she removed her towel and tossed it onto the rocks. "Come on Keitaro, come out, come out wherever you are!" She struck a couple of poses that would have made the male population of Japan die of blood loss.  
  
"Kitsune! Put that towel back on!" The redheaded girl snatched up the towel and threw it in the fox girl's general direction.  
  
'Oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap!' Praying to whatever god kept him alive, the manager hoped the steam wouldn't clear up otherwise they'd see him right beneath the water, then he'd be in real trouble. Fortunately, that god was feeling kindly and pleasant today and the steam stayed in place. Too bad Keitaro was out of oxygen.  
  
'Air, I need air!' He didn't dare risk swimming backwards in fear that whomever the leg belonged to would feel the water moving. Mentally, he started weighing the consequences in his mind: he could wait until he passed out from oxygen deprivation, his unconscious body floating to the surface, and then getting punched by Naru; or he could take his chances with now, get punched, and walk back immediately.  
  
'There's always the off-chance she won't hit me at all,' A hopelessly optimistic part of his brain insisted. His mouth had already started make the denial, losing precious air bubbles as he tried to speak them. 'Crap! I NEED AIR RIGHT NOW' His head broke the surface and he stumbled forward, latching onto something soft. And warm. And attached to Kitsune's chest. Sucking in deep gulps of air, he clung to Kitsune like he was a drowning man and she was a lifesaver.  
  
Naru stared in complete shock at Keitaro's shirtless, wet form, hugging her best friend like she was afraid she would drop him back into the water. "You. . . YOU PERVERT!!!!" Pulling her fist back, she sent it crashing into his face with more force than usual due to the jealousy she felt.  
  
The poor and chronically unlucky manager soared through the air, heading in the vague direction of the sleeping town. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he prayed wherever he landed was softer than last time.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Hinata Tea House, Haruka's Bedroom . . .  
  
The elder Urashima was still asleep on her futon, all tangled up with a fuzzy dark green blanket. The room itself was dark, quiet, and sparsely decorated. Suddenly, a cracking sound could be heard and something punched a hole through the roof above her, landing on her like a 20 lbs. bag of whatever was dropped from the top of the atmosphere. Her eyes bugged out of her head upon impact and she shoved the offending object off of her, taking in deep breaths of air. "What the hell?!"  
  
In the dim lighting, she could make out that whatever the heck had landed on her had been a person, and only one person could end up going through a roof like that. "Keitaro?"  
  
The shadowed form coughed as he rose to his knees, plaster dust coming off of him, and a vivid, bleeding red cut above his eyebrow. "Yes, Aunt Haruka?" He pulled off his glasses and squinted in her direction, the blood stinging his eyes before he wiped it away.  
  
WHAM! The following backhand sent him headfirst into the wall. "Just Haruka," she said automatically.  
  
"Owww. . ." A bandage had appeared on his head along with a comically large lump.  
  
Now that the surprise had worn off, she felt sleep-deprived and glanced at the undamaged clock that had landed in the far corner. "Just what the hell are you doing at 6:30 in the morning Keitaro?" She asked, deadpan.  
  
"Cleaning the hot spring."  
  
"Well, now you have to patch up my roof too." The elder Urashima pointed to the large, body-shaped hole that had a view to the brightening sky.  
  
"Um, you have a skylight now," he joked weakly, rising to his feet and swaying ever so slightly.  
  
WHAM! The blow from her fan sent him back to the floor.  
  
"This isn't the time." Producing a pack of cigarettes from out of nowhere, she lit one and inhaled the smoke, feeling just a little bit better.  
  
With a sigh, the unfortunate male scooped up the broken pieces of the roof, the pointy bits poking into his bare chest as he stumbled out of the room.  
  
The older woman shook her head as she watched his form make its way up the long staircase that led up to the former inn. "He's been spending too much time with Seta." Was muttered as she turned and began to clean up her room.  
  
Mutsumi walked in, still in her nightgown and rubbing her eyes. "Oh my, what happened?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Hinata House, Kiera's room. . .  
  
The dark-haired American was lying in the middle of the floor in her room, shirtless with a knifepoint pressed against her abdomen. With the slow, deliberate motions of someone who has done this often, she traced patterns into her tanned skin, applying just enough pressure to break the skin and moving the knifepoint fast enough so that the flesh didn't heal around it. Few drops of blood stained the blade as she continued her nonsensical tracing. With it, she felt a type of release from her tensions leaving her body metaphorically as blood.  
  
Motoko knocked once on the doorframe with the hilt of her sword, She was dressed in her usual gi and hakama with the legendary Hina blade in hand instead of her usual practice sword.  
  
A sharp rap at the door made her jump, her eyes flicking open as she nearly stabbed herself. "Come in." Thinking it was only Angela, she didn't make any move to hide what she was doing. Her eyelids closed as she heard something clatter to the floor. A rush of wind and a struggleless scuffle followed, and she reopened her eyes to find her wrists pinned to the ground beside her head, knife tossed over to the side, and eye-to-eye with the swordswoman of Hinata straddling her hips.  
  
"What are you doing?!" She demanded angrily, a note of concern threading its way into her voice.  
  
"Er. . . It's not what you think. . ." Recovering quickly over her shock, the American tried to come up with an excuse while attempting to ignore the fact that she was pinned underneath Motoko. "Could you come back later? I might have an explanation for you then." She grinned weakly as she tried to wiggle her way out from underneath the pin.  
  
Clamping down with more pressure around her wrists and hips, she leaned in close to Kiera's face. "I'd like to hear that reason now." She had that low, quiet tone of someone really pissed off about something.  
  
Blinking several times, Kiera realized she hadn't heard a word Motoko said since all of her concentration was focused on not giving away that she enjoyed the position they were in immensely. She opened her mouth to answer just as the door slid open silently once more.  
  
"Well, well, what do we have here?"  
  
Both heads swiveled to face the new speaker. Standing there was Angela, wrapped up in only a blue towel, her dark red locks wet and clinging to her skin. She dropped the bundle of clothing she had under her arm and stared at them expectantly. The pair had frozen in the positions they were in, staring in the Brit's direction.  
  
"This isn't what it looks like!"  
  
"She started this, not me!" Both pairs of eyes flicked back to each other, then back to the redhead, then back to each other. The samurai leapt off with a speed that even a cheetah couldn't match. "I should be go- Wait, what are you still doing here anyway?"  
  
"Who, me?"  
  
"That should be obvious." Motoko snapped, her mood going from embarrassed to pissed again in the time it takes for a formula one racer to move on the track.  
  
She strolled into the room and over to Kiera, who was sitting up, and trailed her fingers across the back of the American's neck. "I slept with Kiera here." She said as if she was stating a simple matter of fact, although the smug grin on her face didn't help the situation.  
  
"Eh heh, she's just kidding around, aren't you?" The last part was punctuated with a nudge against her leg.  
  
"What am I kidding around about? We did share the same bed last night, did we not?" The smile on the redhead's face implied other things. The bed- related activities sort of thing.  
  
"Well, I think that's enough for this morning!" Kiera had risen to her feet while the other two had locked eyes and were in a staring contest with each other. "Um, Motoko, can we finish this discussion later, please?" She asked as she stepped in between them, and slowly ushered the samurai girl out of the room. "Please." The swordswoman conceded with a simple nod of her head while continuing to glare at the other. Turning sharply on her heel, she walked out the open door, only stooping for a moment to pick up her fallen weapon before walking out.  
  
She waited till the footsteps retreated down the hall before rounding on the still-towel clad figure. "Why do you keep doing that?" Hastily, she pulled on a shirt that read: Evil is good. and had a little guy in a devil suit with a blood-red halo over his head, holding a pitchfork.  
  
"Doing what?" The Brit managed to pull off the innocent look without a hitch, even while covered with only a towel.  
  
"Just, forget it. Hurry up and get dressed too, I'm taking you out of here for breakfast." She rummaged around and pulled out a leather jacket from off the hanger inside her closet and slipped that on. "Hey, what are you doing? You can't wear my clothes!"  
  
Angela looked up from her search. In one hand, she had a long denim skirt and one of the few white t-shirts Kiera owned. "My clothes are dirty and I just took a shower." She said petulantly, sticking out her lower lip in a mock frown. She just dropped the towel and pulled on the top, not caring or bothering with a bra. Luckily, the girl was panty-clad, so there wasn't more unnecessary flashing as she put on the skirt.  
  
A resounding scream of "PERVERT!" along with the following crash of something expensive breaking echoed throughout the aged building.  
  
Kiera closed her eyes momentarily, an almost pained/exasperated expression was writ upon her features for a second. "How does he manage to do that every day?" she muttered under her breath.  
  
"Pardon me?"  
  
"Never mind. Are you ready to go?"  
  
"Where's my coat?" She asked as she picked up her bag.  
  
"Still hanging in the laundry room, now let's get it and go." Quickly pulling on a pair of socks and grabbing her bag, she motioned for the flame haired girl to move faster.  
  
"What's the hurry? It's only 6:45; we have plenty of time."  
  
"Yeah, but I would rather not deal with anyone else asking why you're still here." Seeing the devious look on her face, she also added, "Don't you have to pick up your books? And not to mention I'd love to see where you're living now."  
  
The fiery Brit's face took on a panicked expression. "Oh my god, I forgot to call my cousin! She'll be worried out of her mind by now!" She grabbed Kiera's arm and pulled it in jerky motions. "Come on, come on! Will you hurry the bloody hell up?"  
  
"What happened to 'what's the hurry?'" She stuck her tongue out as she pulled her hair into a braid.  
  
"Quiet you!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ A few hours later, around 1 PM. . .  
  
One unbelievable tired American was climbing up the long staircase to the Hinata House. The stresses of her day were pretty astonishing, and they weren't even over yet. First there was getting back to Tokyo, trains were delayed a few hours because of an accident on the tracks. Then, the pleasure of dealing with Angela's screechy and bitchy woman of a relation. She was only two years older than the both of them yet she treated them like children. 'Grrr. And don't let me get started on that mooching loser boyfriend of hers.' She growled to herself as she opened the door.  
  
The first greeting she got as she proceeded inside was silence, only one dark, long-haired figure sat with her back to the door. Kiera's eyes widened as she remembered what she swore to tell Motoko as soon as she was free. She backpedaled, keeping as quiet as possible.  
  
"Hello Kiera." The samurai hadn't even turned around.  
  
She froze on the spot. "Hey Motoko." Heaving a defeated sigh, she kicked off her shoes. "What are you doing back so earlier?"  
  
"The Kendo club wasn't meeting today."  
  
"I see. Well, I'm sure you've got more important things to do besides talking to me, so I'll just be going now." She tried to edge out of the closest exit of the room.  
  
"Upstairs now."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Now," She set down the tea she was drinking and stood up, showing off that she was still dressed in street clothes. Specifically pale blue jeans and one of those stretchy, sleeveless, white t-shirts, the kind that are really tight around the chest.  
  
Her shoulders slumped in acceptance. "Yes, ma'am."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Hinata House, Rooftop landing. . .  
  
"Are you going to tell me what I saw this morning?"  
  
"About that, I-" Motoko dropped into a fighting stance. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Did you forget what day it is?"  
  
A little warning alarm was going off in Kiera's head. "Um, no." She moved slowly into a defensive stance. "Look, this morning-"  
  
She didn't get the chance to finish her sentence before Motoko launched into an attack.  
  
"Shit! Will you-"  
  
A backhand slipped through her defenses with little trouble and sent her staggering. "Don't swear."  
  
Two quick punches followed a side kick and her comment.  
  
She sidestepped the kick and ducked under the punches. One fist sailed into her opponent's midsection.  
  
The other countered, twisting the avoid a direct blow and slammed her forearms onto the overextended body and exposed back of the other fighter.  
  
She hit the floor, using her arms to absorb most of the force and rolled away as another kick was directed at her. She managed to scramble to her feet and caught a glancing blow to the face before dancing backwards and out of reach.  
  
The pair circled around, both looking for gaps in the defenses. Kiera had an almost mad glint in her eyes as she stared at the other. Motoko's lips were curled up in a little smile at the corners of her mouth.  
  
The dark-haired American charged forward, hoping to catch the Japanese warrior by surprise with a full-body tackle.  
  
She saw it coming and neatly dodged the brash maneuver and sent a right hook out in interests of punching her in the stomach.  
  
Her palms slammed onto the ground and she flipped over it, landing sloppily behind her opponent. She twisted around in time to catch a kick right to the gut. The blow sent her stumbling into the railing, knocking her back into it. An ominous cracking sound could be heard then the wooden rail shattered and fell, and would have taken Kiera with it if Motoko hadn't grabbed onto the front of her shirt. And threw her across the landing.  
  
She landed hard, rolling a few times before stopping and rising into a crouch. She charged Motoko again, all grace and decorum forgotten for a second. She swung out wildly with her right fist, nailing her in the upper chest.  
  
Her opponent spun with the force of the punch and dropped into a crouch, sweeping her right leg out, making contact with the other girl's calves and knocking her legs out from under her.  
  
She went down hard, slamming her back and shoulders into the ground and leaving her breathless and panting for air. She motioned for the other to stop. "No more, no more." Rolling onto all fours, the American was helped to her feet by the samurai. The poor girl nearly stumbled again when she noticed that the other's shirt was soaked with sweat, and with it being a white tee, made it nearly transparent.  
  
Motoko wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, smearing a small streak of blood along her jaw. "Now will you tell me what was this morning all about?" She asked, panting between words. Kiera's arm was still held by Motoko and she realized that every time Motoko took a breath, she could feel her nipples brush against her arm because of the way it was being held.  
  
"Fine, fine, you win. It's kind of a pointless explanation though." She licked her lips and tried to concentrate on her question. "Long and pointless."  
  
She shrugged then inclined her head in the other's direction. "Time isn't an issue."  
  
"Alright, but remember, you wanted to know."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A/N: HEY! LOOK, I'M FINALLY DONE!! THERE IS A GOD, SOMEWHERE, LAUGHING AT ME. . . *manical laughter* Aren't you happy now? Yes, I have finished up to the last one manga-wise, number 14, and yes I do notice some inconsistencies and huge, gaping holes. Oh well, can't win 'em all. Basically, this would count as an AU past book 9 or 10. After I just start taking and using some parts of the others and not following with the rest. Although, after all this there is one thing I cannot stand. No, it's not the lesbian advances, insults, or flames. It's the accusation that this, THIS is a cheap, MARY SUE!!! WHY I- (falls over)  
  
Angela: (holding a bat) So this is where you ran off to. (nudges with foot) Anyway, what she means is that she, in no way, used herself as a base. Not on purpose anyway. Who knows what might have slipped in unconsciously.  
  
Kiera: (now tied up in chair) I resent that. Now will you let me go?  
  
Angela: (pulls out a whip) No.  
  
Kiera: Eep.  
  
MindKore: (groans)  
  
Angela: (steps on MindKore) Don't move. I'm not pleased that you ran off before I was done with you.  
  
MindKore: (groggy) Wha?  
  
Angela: (grinning menacingly) You've both been bad, bad girls.  
  
Kiera: (breaks free of ropes) Shit! (runs away)  
  
Angela: Tsk, tsk. Didn't you learn? (snaps whip and catches Kiera)  
  
MindKore: (blinks) O.o  
  
(fade to black)  
  
Kiera: (yelps) Hey, wait! Where are you gonna put that??!!  
  
MindKore: Holy. . . Is that even possible??  
  
More A/N: I want reviews. Review! I'm like, dying here!! Really!! So, I want up to a total of 20 reviews, from different people please! Otherwise, considerate a warning that I plan to take my sweet ass time on the next chapter! Thanks for reading this, even if you don't review. And I'm still taking suggestions for Truth and Dare, so email, bark, use a obscure form of morse code if you have to, just get them in please! Ok, I'm done railing on you now.  
  
-MindKore 


	10. Halloween Party

BIG FREAKING DISCLAIMER: I don't own Love Hina, only Kiera and that naughty Angela. But I wish I owned Love Hina... sigh

Anything in italics are thoughts. If I can get the italics to work... Or if they're like this: '_thought_' and mentioned as a thought. Most of the time.

(OOO)(OOO) – scene change, I have no idea what the longer ones mean.

Chapter 9 – Halloween Party

A finger circumnavigated the rim of the cup as the pair of women sat in silence. Wisps of steam floated off the tea and disappeared rather quickly in the cool temperature of the room. Both figures sat on opposite sides of the low table; the one in the white tee, her eyes boring into the one sitting across from her; whereas the black clothed one focused on anywhere but the other girl's eyes.

"Well?" Motoko stared expectantly at the opposing figure who was concentrating on the cup like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

Kiera's head raised itself and she straightened her posture just enough so she could look the other in the eye. "It's hardwired into me; I'm a born masochist." She said that with absolutely no emotion at all, the look in her eyes a carefully contrived blankness.

The expression on Motoko's face was disbelieving and annoyed. "I want the truth." Her dark eyes burned their way into her own, bidding her to tell the real story.

The air from her lungs escaped in a sigh. "Right, the truth." Her hands began fiddling with the almost full cup of hot tea, nearly spilling it once or twice. Their gazes broke apart as she tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling instead. "When I was younger, I was a little bit of a, how do you put it?" Her eyes narrowed as they fixated themselves on one particular irregularity on the otherwise smooth ceiling. "Ah, right, an overachiever. It wasn't so bad until I hit high school. There, I tried to take as many challenging classes as possible, thought I could handle it." She gave a noncommittal shrug of the shoulders. "I was doing pretty well until, oh, middle of sophomore year. I cut myself badly on the arm while working on a project. I guess the whole bleeding thing was tied to a kind of emotional release, but not in that suicidal way.

"I didn't have much of an interest in killing myself; it just took the pressure off me in little ways. Hell, I didn't really do it all that often until. . ." Her voice trailed off into vague mumbling. _'Don't forget your newfound interest in girls started then, too.'_ A little voice in her head added cheerfully. _'Shut up. She doesn't need to know that.'_

"Until what?"

She drew air in a slow intake of breath. "Angela found out about it. Our friendship went to hell shortly after. The month following it was too much to take and it got worse. Progressively worse. Someone ending up signing me up for a trip to a private psychiatrist, pre-paid for and everything. He diagnosed me with "chronic depression", which I thought was wrong and stopped attending after a session or two. We made up soon after; she turned out to be angry but since she couldn't get me to stop, she only made me promise not to cut anything major." Her eyes remained glued to the roof. "Happy now?"

"I'm not happy about it, but it is your life." Her voice sounded just a touch accusatory and reprimanding.

"Eh, talking about stuff like this is prone to making people depressed to begin with." Another expansive shrug of her shoulders. She unfolded her legs and rose to her feet while dusting off her butt in the process. "I'm not one for dwelling on the past; I just accept it and move on."

"Why do you keep doing it then?"

The question made her pause and blink for a few moments. "I never really thought about it. I guess it's just become a bad habit now." She gave Motoko a sheepish grin. "It just gives me something to do with my hands." The American stuck her hands into her back pockets and walked backwards, careful not to trip over anything.

"Isn't that what hobbies are for?" Motoko held the cup of still-steaming tea up to her lips and took a few small sips.

"Hobbies shmobbies. I do what I like when I like to." The younger one leaned back against the doorjamb and slid it open behind her. "Now, I've got plenty of work to do since I didn't get much done last night with Angela over and all." _'Idiot.'_ Mental slap. _'Why don't you just tell her that you were busy having wild sex because that's what she's probably thinking.'_ She could practically feel the tips of her ears burning as she nodded at the other and stepped out.

(OOO)(OOO)

Hinata House, a few days later. . .

Prowling around the old inn certainly proved enjoyable, at least for the bored that sorely need entertainment. Kiera snooped around in hidden hallways for the past hour and a half after she tumbled through the wall tapestry in the living room after she leaned on it. However, the fact that the passageways were so low, it forced her to either crawl or stoop her shoulders to move around. Which was not fun at all since stooping had made her back hurt and crawling for the past 45 minutes was hellish on her hands and knees. Not to mention being lost hidden passageways in a huge inn is bad. Very, very bad.

"Gods... Have I already been here?" Kiera peered down at the ground. In the dim light that was being emitted from some vague source, the relatively thick layer of dust on the ground looked undisturbed. "Okay, maybe not this way." She made to turn around when she noticed that the hallway was slightly warmer than the others and she could hear water splashing. Concentrating more with ears all a-twitching, she could make out faint voices through the wall to the left of her. "Hmmm.... Maybe I'll keep going then."

As she proceeded on, the voices got louder and the words became more audible. After living in the Hinata House for a month now, she could roughly make out whose voice belonged to whom. She continued on and found a thin beam of yellow light that lit up a small patch of dusty ground in front of her. The light seemed oddly bright and almost obscene after wandering around in darkness for some time. Squinting a bit, she let her pupils adjust to the new light source before pressing her eye to the small quarter-sized hole.

"What do you mean there's not enough money?"

Kiera realized where she was; she was peeking in on the hot springs bath and everyone was in there. The hazy steam obscured her vision half the time but she repositioned herself better for eavesdropping and catching whatever glimpses she could. It was apparent that the protesting, half-demanding voice belonged to Kitsune.

"That's just it, there's not enough. With only half of you guys paying the rent and all the repairs this old building needs, there's just not enough for a Halloween party right now. Not to mention all the money you spent on the last few parties and tapping my wallet for your drinking money!" Keitaro sighed from somewhere within the steam.

"What if we all chip in some more for a party, sempai? After all, Kiera is the first person to stay longer than a month for a while now. I think we should have a celebration because of that." The soothing tones of Shinobu trying to smooth things over didn't quite work the magic they normally did.

"I still have my money-making machine if you want to use that." Su chirped up.

"Let's not promote making counterfeit money Su." The steam cleared away to reveal Motoko facing in the direction of the wall Kiera was hiding behind. Everyone was just lounging around in bathing suits, drinking tea and it looked like they were holding some kind of house meeting. "I think we can hold a small party with the funds we have. It doesn't have to be large and elaborate."

"No, no, it has to be a big party; that American is the only real tenant that's stayed any period of time without just up and running off in the middle of the night." Per usual, in Kitsune's hand was a glass of something and it wasn't tea. "How much do we need?"

"We need about-"

"T-TURTLE! STAY BACK DEMON!" Motoko screamed when a little green blur flew past her. Instantly, her sword was in her hands and she swung wildly at the little green thing. "GET AWAY, GET IT AWAY!"

Kitsune whistled. "Damn, that's a lot of money." She and Keitaro were still talking about the party while everyone else was running around the hot spring after Tama-chan the flying hot spring turtle, otherwise known as the little green blur.

Naru managed to restrain Motoko in a bear hug and, in the ensuing struggle, they somehow accomplished untying and pulling off each other's bikini tops along with getting the sword pinned between their legs in what looked very much like an opening scene for a kinky porno.

SPLASH!

The sound of something heavy hitting the water made them pause for a moment and look over. Poor Keitaro was lying face up in the water, blood spraying out of his nose like a fountain. His eyes were swirly and he had a glazed over expression on his face and was mumbling something that sounded like "thespians".

A vein began to throb on Naru's forehead as her face turned a bright, vivid red. Motoko had that look of being possessed by an evil being going on and they both turned their full attention on the semi-conscious manager.

Kiera couldn't peel herself away and watched as the two violent girls pummeled the crap out of Keitaro. She found herself tilting her head as she tried to get a better view of their bodies as they moved. Not surprisingly, the American-in-hiding fell over with a loud thump after tilting and leaning too far over.

Motoko looked up from beating Keitaro. "Did you hear something?"

Naru followed suit, leaving the bruised and bloodied manager to doggy-paddle to salvation. Kitsune was busy helping him out of the water before the other girls could notice while laughing her head off.

Forgetting where she was for a split second, she attempted to rise quickly and slammed her shoulders and the back of her head into the low, low ceiling. "Motherfuc-" Her hands clapped over her mouth, catching the last bit of the curse word.

The still-topless pair turned to face the wall Kiera was hiding behind. The redheaded girl stalked forward cautiously. "I think it's coming from behind that wall."

The now-seemingly-narrow passage felt like it was getting smaller as she tried to escape. The thick layer of dust on the floor hampered her movement and her wild thrashing sent clouds of it into the air, making her sneeze wildly. The floor beneath her suddenly gave way and she plunged headlong into a tunnel.

Convoluted smooth metal sides shot by her as she sped through them. After slamming into one side rather violently, she slowed long enough to catch a glimpse of a tiny three-eyed symbol marring the otherwise sleek surface. Quickly, the tube opened up and the unlucky American was soon soaring headfirst through the air only to hit one inconveniently placed tree in her landing area and black out.

Kiera wasn't out for very long and was soon welcomed back to the wonderful world of consciousness. "Son of a-" Rubbing her shoulder, she growled under her breath and checked her surroundings.

The room gave the appearance of a jungle of sorts; low hanging tree branches, spongy moss covering the floor, complete with a damp, humid feel to the air. The faint sounds of giggling and soft laughter drifted over to where she was sitting on the ground. Rising to her feet unsteadily, she tried to quietly pad around to find the makers of the noise and stumbled straight into a tree with her good shoulder. "Owww. . ."

A few leaves somewhere in front of her rustled. "Did you hear that?" The voice sounded familiar. It had that warm, pleased but tired feel to it, like the owner had just woken up.

Another round of soft giggles. "Mmm. Hear what?"

Kiera froze in place.

"Nothing, must be my imagination." The sound of someone yawning could be heard as the American crept forward ever so slowly. Sounds of people breathing just beyond the next plant became louder and sped up to the point of panting. Taking her chances, she brushed some branches and leaves aside and scooted up for a closer view.

"Holy shit. . ."

Shinobu was lying on top of someone, butt naked, kissing down someone else's equally naked body. The violet-haired girl was lingering around the other's chest, blocking the view of whoever was on the ground from Kiera's point of view. Her head slowly continued on its southern move, revealing blonde hair and a gleeful, pleased expression on Su's face.

'_Must. . . leave. . .'_ The scene proved to be quite captivating and was certainly more entertaining than some other things. Kiera made a careless move backwards, her attention still focused on the scene in front of her. A twig snapped under her knee; its crack audible to her sensitive ears, not to mention evident to the pair lying on the moss too.

Shinobu rose onto her knees, loosely gripping Su's thighs with them. "There!" She glanced around wildly, a cautious look on her face. "What was that?" Su's jungle room was not a place to be trifled with.

The blonde girl looked mildly irritated with the interruption. "It's nothing. I ought to know, I made it."

Still, the violet-haired girl's eyes flicked around more slowly, searching the foliage for any signs of what produced the sound. Her gaze fell on the bush off to the left of her; the one Kiera happened to be taking refuge behind. What she saw were two glowing eyes, something much similar to a pair of animal eyes. "Auuuuu! Su, what are those?!" She gestured fervently in the direction of the American's hiding spot.

Su followed the gesture and found herself staring at the same pair of reflective eyes. She was instantly on the alert and on her feet, rocket launcher pointed directly at them. "Alright! Come out or I shoot!" See, she'd grown up some; had it been another time when she was younger, she would've shot first and questioned or experimented on it later.

The American found herself staring down a launcher tube with an ultimatum in hand. _'Shit!'_ "Gah! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Hands above her head, she stood up slowly from behind her plant.

"Kiera?! Were you spying on us?!" Shinobu jerked the launcher out of Su's hands and pointed it at the girl, finger hovering over the trigger.

"No, no!" She shook her head for emphasis. "I swear I wasn't! I'm not really sure how I got down here! Honest!"

Su pried the weapon free of Shinobu's deathgrip and tossed it aside. "Just how much did ya see?"

"Um. . . Nothing at all." Kiera smiled weakly, the dim light covering up her slight blush. "Now if you would be so kind as to point me out of here?"

"Thataway." Su pointed somewhere off to her right. "You can't miss the door; it's just pass that pool. Oh, and try to avoid the water eh? One of my experiments got loose."

"Um, one more question?" The dark-haired girl had moved to stand behind a tree that covered about half her body. "Are you two. . . uh. . . together?" She got ready to duck behind the tree in case another weapon should be pulled on her.

Shinobu flushed; Kiera's gaze wandered lower to follow it. _'Wow, she blushes almost down to her. . . Eyes up idiot!'_ She pulled her eyes back up to meet the blonde's. In response, Su wrapped her arms protectively around the smaller girl and pulled her close, planting a quick kiss on her lips. "We would really appreciate it if you didn't mention this to anyone." Shinobu looked meaningfully at the American, a tinge of pleading entering her request.

"Gotcha." She winked and disappeared behind the tree. The smaller girl had just begun to relax into Su's arms when Kiera popped back out, surprising her all over again. "Oh, an' to answer your question; yes, I do find it a touch chilly in here."

The pair fixed her with two very confused looks. "What?" Shinobu blinked in unison with Su; they didn't get it.

Kiera just gave them both a wicked grin, pointed to her chest, and pulled another vanishing act, snickering madly. They looked at each other and enlightenment dawned on them.

"Auuuu!"

(OOO)(OOO)

Hinata House, Keitaro's room. . .

The sole male on the entire property was busy tallying up the funds for the month the old building needed and tried to figure out whether or not to chip in for a party from his own personal funds. He grabbed his wallet from off the desk and opened it; the comical moth flying out of it to die on the table. Nothing; even his credit card was missing! Anime-esque tears were streaming down his face as he upended the wallet, a single coin falling out to land on the wooden desk with a thunk.

Keitaro rose to his feet and went off in search of Kitsune, determined to claim his credit card back before she could do more damage with it. Problem was, sitting on top of the bookshelf, marking a page in his archeology text, was the missing card.

"Hey, landlord, you in there?" Someone rapped once on the doorframe. "Keitaro?" A hand slid the door open and Kiera poked her head inside. "Hello? Anybody?" A quick glance revealed that the room was totally empty, even of turtle. In her hands, she had a plain white envelope. Her eyes skimmed over the book that lay open on the table. "Perfect, you'll really need this." She dropped the envelope on the open book on the table. She slipped back out, making sure to shut the door after.

Keitaro reappeared a moment after she left, sporting a new large bump on his head. He tilted his head back and asked the ceiling, "Am I just supposed to let her take my money?" Too bad for him, ceilings don't talk back.

The pitiable boy flopped back down in front of his books and picked up the envelope. "Huh? What's this?" Turning over in his hands, he examined it carefully. "Hmm. . . Not one of Su's mail bombs. . ." He cautiously tore it open with his pen and inspected the contents. Within it was a considerable amount of American money; to be accurate, six hundred American in fifties. _'Keitaro, be careful. It may be dirty money!'_ The envelope slipped from his fingers and he leapt to his feet, arms flailing as he ran around in circles. _'Oh, my god! Oh, my god! It's dirty money! I'm gonna die!!'_

"What's going on down there?" Naru stuck her head in the room from the connecting hole between their rooms. Her head withdrew and two feet replaced them. "I'm coming down!" She swung herself into his room only to have her shirt snag on something on the edge of the hole. "Whaa!" Keitaro moved too slowly to catch her and instead caught a foot to the face and had her land on his head.

"Keitaro?" Naru was straddling his head, her skirt pushed halfway up her thighs. She looked down. "PERVERT!" She leapt off of him and hammered him in the head with one of her Naru-punches.

He sat up; the two substantial bumps on his head looked like budding horns. "Oww. . What was that for?" Keitaro had his eyes closed and was rubbing his head. His eyes opened and he looked up at her, aggrieved. Then he noticed her shirt was torn almost all the way down the front and she had no bra on. A veritable fountain of blood spouted up and he fell over backwards.

Naru looked down at him for a moment and looked at herself. Clutching her shirt closed with one hand, her face bright red, she hammered him again only this time with a huge mallet that she pulled from thin air. "Perv, perv, perv!"

"Owww..." His face and hands were covered with bandages and he handed her one of his shirts, twitching ever so slightly.

She moved to pull his shirt over her head and then realized she would have to let go of her torn top in order to get it on. "Turn around."

"You are so unreasonable sometimes." He muttered quietly to himself as he turned around.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Her shirt flapping around, she looked very frightening with the whole bulgy vein thing on her forehead.

His hands flew up to shield his head. "Nothing, nothing at all!"

She nodded, smiling to herself as she pulled off the remains of her shirt and pulled on the one he gave her. "What was it you were panicking about when I looked down here to begin with anyway?"

Still looking miserable and nursing some of his bruises, he said nothing but pointed to the envelope instead. "Hmm? What's this?" Naru's eyes bugged out of her head for a moment before she calmed herself. "It's just money. Hey, there's a note."

"What's does it say? Does it say who left it here?"

"'For your party.' Duh, I know who gave this to you." Naru was grinning like she had solved one of the world's greatest mysteries. "That damn American; she's the only one that would even have American money to begin with."

"But why would she give so much? And the party was supposed to be surprise for her anyway."

Kitsune poked her head into the room without so much as a knock, sliding the door open with a bang. "Do mine ears deceive me? Or did you say American money?" She zipped across the room and plucked the little white packet from Naru's hands all in one swift move. Who knew the semi-drunk could move so fast?

"OOH! Now we definitely have enough for the party and then some!" The fox girl squealed in what could have been sheer mooching delight.

"Wait a second; we can't just blow it all on liquor!" Naru moved to snatch it back but Kitsune stepped out of reach, cradling it to her chest like some would a baby.

"Alright then, what do you think we should do?"

(OOO)(OOO)

Tokyo University, October 31st

Kiera glanced at the sign hanging in front of the school gateway. Some pranksters had managed to decorate the whole campus in what looked like fish guts and several M-180s had been thrown into various bathrooms on campus. The scent of human waste and the pervasive fishy smells blended together to create one truly vomit-worthy odor. And the worst thing was, the smell hit all at once as soon as anyone got close to the gate. Then the wind started to pick up and blow the smell around.

Holding a hand to her face in a futile attempt to lessen the smell or at least avoid losing what little breakfast that she had consumed, the American was helped away by her redheaded fiend - er, friend, following the push of the nauseated crowd.

(OOO)(OOO)

Hinata House, October 31st

"Are you done yet?"

Naru tapped her foot against the floor; a sign she was getting impatient.

"A-almost." Keitaro was panting like a dog, his tongue lolling out as he dragged the last of the liquor and other drink cases into the cave-like lower room that had been converted by Su into a party room. No one knew just how Su knew about the room and its passageway leading from under the living room floor to it, nor did they bother asking.

An enormous stereo system had been hooked up and took up most of the far wall; its immense speakers dominating most of the wall, the actual system set up between them. A little three-eyed symbol was stamped on it, glowing yellow in the muted light. One long table was lined against the left wall; on top of it was booze from all around the world. Strobe lights were set into the ceiling and the rough-hewn stone walls were decorated with painted scenes of typical Halloween-y things, of dark, scary forests, a full moon, and a haunted house.

"Hey Kei, just so you know there's a few cases of chips and dip that need to be moved if you get my drift." Kitsune called from the top of the stairs, her silhouette stretching to the bottom of the short staircase.

"J-just give me one second."

Naru sighed, feeling somewhat guilty for working him so hard. "I'll get it Kit." She hurried up the stairs just in time to see the fox girl rush out the door to meet someone.

"Heyyy..... Kiera, you're home rather early, aren't you? It's only 12 'o' clock." Kitsune's nose wrinkled as she inhaled, waving a hand in front of her face. "Whoa! You two smell like you've been sewer diving. What happened?" She motioned behind her for Naru to shut the trap door leading to the party room.

Sniffing at her shirt, her brow furrowed and she exhaled in sharply. "Pranksters hit the school and the smell sticks to you." Angela looked rather disgusted altogether. "Would you mind if I used your shower? I would love nothing more that to wash this stench off."

Naru kicked the door shut with a slam after tossing a note down to Keitaro.

Kiera jerked. "What the hell is that?" She moved to go through the door to go see only for the fox girl to step in her way.

Lightly resting a hand against the other's chest, she kept the American from going forward. "Nothing to worry about, just Kei making repairs on this ol' building." After seeing Naru give her a thumbs-up and disappear into the kitchen from the corner of her eye, she stepped aside and let them enter. "Just so you know, the hot spring's probably free right now."

Kicking off her shoes, she nodded. "That sounds like a great idea, care to join me Angela?" Her left eye twitched when she realized what she just offered.

Giving Kiera a sly smile as she slid off her own shoes, the young Brit nodded her assent. "Of course, love."

Kitsune clapped once and rubbed her hands together. "Well, since that's settled. Don't worry about your clothes either; Shinobu's been on a cleaning spree since six this morning; she decided to skip classes for some reason. I'll send her in your direction, with a small fee of course." She coughed and held a hand out.

Rolling her eyes, she dug a $5 dollar bill from her pocket and pressed it into the older woman's hands.

"Heh, I'll warn Shinobu not to clean the hot springs while you're in there."

"Gee, thanks." The sarcasm went unnoticed by the other as Kiera grabbed the Angela by the hand and dragged her off. That meant that Kiera couldn't have seen the nod and smile Kitsune directed in Angela's direction too. The fox girl sauntered off in the opposite direction with a half-smirk on her face and shoved the money into the pocket.

"Feeling frisky today, are we?" Angela grinned toothily up at the American girl as she was dragged bodily into the dressing room.

"You bet, wanna screw?"

The redhead's jaw dropped and she had such a shocked expression on her face. "Seriously?"

"No.." Kiera had a giant sweatdrop behind her head; didn't she even realize that was false cheer in her voice? "I was just kidding around." Turning her back on her, the darker-haired one began looking for where the clean towels were.

She pouted. "Aww... You're mean; you shouldn't lead a girl on like that." Her eyes continued to bore holes in Kiera's back until she realized that the other girl really did pay her no mind at all. Just as she came to this revelation, a fluffy blue towel soared through the air to smack her in the face. "Hey!"

"Come on, don't you wanna wash the smell off? Showers first, then hot spring."

"You didn't have to go and assault me with a towel!"

She shrugged, "You should've seen it coming. Besides, it's not like I was aiming, I just tossed it over my shoulder."

(OOO)(OOO)(OOO)(OOO)

"Ahhhh... This is nice." A small lithe red-headed form was lounging in the water with her head tilted back; lazily watching the tiny clouds drift by.

"I just feel better now that I don't smell like a rancid fish market." The pair had spent the better part of the last 45 minutes scrubbing off the foul scent that seemed to cling to their skin.

"I concur." A yawn escaped her mouth as she leaned back against a nice warm rock that surrounded the hot spring.

"Stop that," The dark haired one sitting opposite of her, leaning on her own rock, yawned as well. "You're making me yawn."

(OOO)(OOO)(OOO)(OOO)

Kitsune heard footsteps coming down the stairs, which was odd since everyone was already downstairs. Keitaro and Naru were in the party room; Su was out buying more supplies for who-knows-what; Shinobu was cleaning and cooking at the same time; Kiera and Angela were still in the hot springs for all she knew, and she was standing right by the stairs. She blinked in surprise when she realized who it was. "Motoko? What're you still doing here? I thought you had class."

The ebon-haired warrior looked at Kitsune and shook her head. "No, I've been training on the roof. I got a call early this morning from members of the Kendo club; they warned me about what happened at school." Her cheeks were still ruddy and she was covered with sweat after training for almost 3 straight hours. One hand was tugging at her gi, trying to get air to circulate under her clothing to dry her off. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in the hot spring." She sidestepped past Kitsune after nodding at her once and continued on her way.

Kitsune paused for a moment before she remembered that Kiera and her friend were still in the hot spring. Her eyes widening, she did a 180 degree turn. "Wait Moto-" The other girl had already disappeared. "Well, this isn't going to turn out well." An evil little smile graced her features for a moment and she rushed off to the kitchen to grab some popcorn.

(OOO)(OOO)(OOO)(OOO)

Motoko could hear some splashing and talking going on in the spring as she slowly undressed.

"Hey, stop that!" The voice was wholly unfamiliar to her ears, although the niggling feeling at the base of her skull said she had heard it at least once before.

"Heh, why don't you make me?" The more familiar tones of Kiera's voice, tinged with amusement, got her attention more fully than the other had. Her brow wrinkled. _'Hold on, just who is in there with her?'_ Shrugging the rest of her clothes off, she grabbed a towel and headed out to the spring, only to granted one strange and oddly angering sight.

Kiera had someone pinned bodily against one of the larger rocks in the spring, one hand restraining the other person's two, and her other hand resting against the person's ribs. Both their towels were piled on another rock, meaning that they were pressed together quite closely and were quite naked. Then Kiera moved, exposing the view of said person's fiery red hair. Stunned speechless, she watched the scene unfold for another moment.

"Say mercy?" The devious look in her eyes said she would begin her assault again if the answer wasn't the right one.

"Never." The redhead's equally mischievous grin grew wider and she leaned forward to lick Kiera's nose.

Motoko finally found her voice. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

The two figures froze and both heads swiveled to face the speaker.

Kiera opened and closed her jaw, making an excellent mockery of a fish before she could speak. "M-Motoko?" Her eyes flicked down to Angela, whom she was still pinning against the rock then back to Motoko. Hurriedly, she loosed her captive and took a step back, allowing Angela to just splash into the water, too surprised by the suddenness of the motion to catch herself. "This isn't what it looks like."

The Brit surfaced in less than a second after the dunking, wiping the water from her eyes and tossing her hair over a shoulder. The water wasn't really all that deep, which meant she exposed everything from the sternum up. Grinning evilly, she had an unexpected thought for revenge. "What she means is, this is exactly what it looks like." Taking a step forward, she slipped her arms around Kiera's waist and nestled herself against the American's side.

"No, no, it's not." Kiera shook her head as she tried to remove the pair of arms that were squeezed around her, trying to break the seemingly unyielding hold. "R-really."

Motoko appeared not to hear her, and instantly she pulled the trusty Hina blade out of thin air.

"Oh crap!" Snagging her redheaded compatriot by the arm, Kiera tore out of there like a bat out of hell, only making a little detour to grab their towels and run straight for the dressing room.

The older girl followed closely behind, sword blade glinting menacingly.

(OOO)(OOO)

Hinata House, the kitchen. . .

"AAAARRRGGGG!!"

Kiera narrowly dodged around Kitsune, who was making a bag of popcorn in the microwave, one hand holding the towel around her body, the other warding off anything that would be in her way. "Coming through!" She skidded to a stop in the middle of the kitchen. "Oh, fuck." There were no other exits besides the windows and the one she came through.

Angela barely missed slamming into Kiera's back. She was slightly luckier than the American girl; she had managed to pull her shirt on all the way although most of it was rolled-up around her chest and held a towel wrapped around her waist. "What in the bloody hell are you standing around for?! She's right behind us!"

"Uh, guys, I think it's a little too late for that now." Kitsune called back after ducking out the door when Motoko barreled in.

"Er....hurh... Motoko, don't you think you're overreacting?" Now that they were cornered, the American tried the tactic of using logic and reason. She held out her hands, showing her they were empty but in the meantime, the towel wrapped around her was barely clinging to her skin; a few quick moves would have it on the floor whether she wanted it there or not. "Come on, down girl? Nice girl?" Her tone changed to a weak attempt at humor to defuse the situation.

The swordswoman's left eye twitched and she advanced closer, as slow as death itself while growling under her breath.

"Uh... Bad Motoko?" Kiera swallowed nervously as she continued backing up until she hit the counter.

That last comment was not a good idea.

A rather large vein began throbbing in the middle of the swordswoman's forehead. "STEEL CUTTING FLASH!" She roared. The sword came down an instant after it went up, sending a swirling wind attack charged with Ki in the young American's direction.

"Shit." She had mere seconds to decide whether to dodge or block. As it seems, she took too long and the decision was made for her. Angela had darted forward, but stopped in the attack's peripheral damage range as it blew past her; she had also moved too slowly. Kiera had thrown up her arms in front of her body and braced herself for the blast.

She felt the wind rip past her and through her, tearing away what little kept her from committing indecent exposure. The counter she was pressed back against gave way and the wall literally exploded outwards, taking her with it. How the hell was Keitaro able to put up with this every day?

She tumbled around rather roughly over the sharp debris, taking numerous cuts in the process, all of which healed just as fast. When the wind finally died down, it left the poor girl lying on her back, staring dazedly up at the sky. She pulled herself in to a sitting position and stared back from where she was thrown from.

Motoko had put up an arm on reflex to protect her eyes from flying wall fragments. The most Kiera could make out was a reddish colored blur streaking toward her followed by the feeling of her arm being yanked out of her socket.

"Come on, move your lazy arse! She'll be up in a minute."

For some reason, this all struck Kiera as oddly funny. "You, mighty Angela, are afraid of a little sword?" She snickered as she was dragged upright. "Suddenly develop a fear of phallic objects or something?"

"It's not the sword I'm afraid of; it's the madwoman wielding it."

Another sharp tug on her arm threw her off-balance and sent the naked American stumbling into the redhead, bringing them both to the ground.

An irritated snarl brought them both back to their senses as they both scrabbled to their feet. The swordswoman looked quite frightening as she stalked closer as slowly as a predator would their prey.

"Now would be a good time to run." Kiera hissed as she backed away unhurriedly, making sure to face the angered woman.

"I must concur."

"On the count of three?" Angela nodded, a quick tilt of her head.

"One."

"Two."

"Hey, wait a sec, where the hell's my towel?!"

"You're worried about a stupid towel?!"

"Well, I'm sure as hell not running around buck naked!"

"It's not like you haven't before! Oh sodding hell, can't we discuss this later? Just RUN!" The pair bolted for the woods behind the old inn, leaving their pursuer hot on their heels behind them.

"You didn't say three!"

"Piss off!"

(OOO)(OOO)

Hinata House, 7 'o' clock. . .

It was already twilight with thickish clouds rolling in from the north, covering up the view of the waxing moon. What looked like a massive dog sitting near the base of the tree, in reality a massive dire wolf, blurred to a much smaller form of something bipedal and human. Another wolf slipped out from between the trees carrying a bundle of cloth in its toothy jaws, dropped the bundle carelessly on the ground; its great four-legged frame distorting and twisting into a human form.

Angela eyed the tree with distaste. "Explain why we're climbing trees to the roof instead of going through the front door again."

She gave her a look that was normally reserved for small children and idiots. "I'm naked."

"So you want pieces of bark being stabbed into some exceedingly sensitive areas?"

"Did I mention I have my pride?"

"Sorry," Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "All I can hear is 'I want sharp pieces of wood stabbed into me sensitive bits.'"

"Oh, come on! What are you, a chicken?" Kiera flung up her arms in exasperation.

She snorted. "That's lovely, resorted to name calling, have we?" Eyeing the tree they were to climb, she ran a hand over the bark. Quite rough, just as suspected. This wasn't going to be fun, but she had clothes, what stopped her from going through the front door?

"Hey! Where're you going?"

"Me?" She pulled on her t-shirt, still slightly damp from wolf drool. "I'm going through the front door like a civilized person." And with that, wrapped the towel around her waist again.

"Oh come on, you're not gonna leave me out here all by myself, are you?" That was it; she turned on the charm, giving the redheaded girl those big puppy dog eyes, easily looking fairly pathetic and miserable in her nakedness.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. What do you purpose then?"

"Think wolves can climb trees?" The other girl smirked after thinking a moment.

"What? That's what you wanted me to stick around for?" Angela huffed. "To play stupid questions?"

She shook her head. "No, not quite. I wanted to try something. I just want someone around to see." Having recently changed back, she could still feel the wolf rolling underneath her consciousness. Gradually, she let the changes overtake her again, only at a much slower pace than normal, letting her instincts control just how far they went. Sweat beaded on her skin before the light hairs on her body darkened and sprouted into true midnight fur. It was like watching grass grow on fast forward. Angela took a step back as heat seemed to radiate off her companion like a hot oven.

Bones lengthened and flesh stretched just as rapidly to accommodate the changes, popping audibly and pushing her frame to well above 6 feet in height. Ropy muscles thickened and lengthened appropriately all over her form, filling her out and making the dark fur ripple and fluff. Ears slid upwards to sit nearer to the top of her head, but lower than where they would be if she was in wolf form. Pale amber ate their way inwards from the outer edge of the iris, leaving them bright and predatory. A muzzle forced itself out of her face, making her jaws itch as teeth realigned and grew in while her head became more lupine in shape. The hair that was normally held back in a braid didn't merge with the fur as it would've done; it hung loose, although it seemed to grow longer in proportion to her body.

A tail pushed its way out of the base of her spine, sprouting incredibly fluffy-looking fuzz before the darker guard hairs grew in. The nails on her hands and feet elongated to razor-sharp claws while muscles fleshed out her hands enough to take on a more paw-like shape yet still keep things like opposable thumbs without warping the underlying shape of the hand much. Her feet took on a more wolf-like shape, forcing her onto her toes, bringing her to tower at about seven-and-a-half feet.

"Mmm.. Nice." A smile pulled at the corners of the redhead's lips. "Very nice." One hand stretched out to stroke her fur. Kiera crouched lower, dropping to all fours, and Angela's hand moved to pet the fur at the nape of her neck. Her tail began to swing back and forth, whacking into low branches. The young Brit stopped petting her.

Kiera whined and butted her head into the redhead's side, nearly toppling the slim girl over. "Hey, down girl! Do you want me to keep petting you or something?" She smirked knowingly.

The werewolf nodded and replied with a short yip, unable to speak even in this hybrid form.

"If I do, you'll owe me a favor." She said in a sing-song voice, smiling evilly.

Shoulders moved in a way that the redhead could only interpret as a shrug. Rolling her eyes, she stretched out a hand to scratch behind her ears, sending that tail swinging to and fro again. "I assume you didn't want to change into this form just to have me pet you, right?" She winked when Kiera turned to look her in the eye, shaking her head slightly at the cheesy double entendre.

Kiera rose from her crouch, coming to stand at her full height before sinking her claws into the tree whose branches dangled closest to the roof. She dug her claws in deeper, reached for one of the thicker boughs that could support her weight, and hauled herself up, her legs scrabbling for purchase until her deadly, sharp claws sank into the bark as if it were soft butter. She repeated this process slowly, taking more care after nearly slipping off several times before she got the hang of it. When she finally came up level with the roof, the few limbs she could hold on to had thinned and barely held her weight, leaving her to sway precariously with every tiny cross-breeze.

Leaning her weight toward the roof, she stretched out and grasped the edge of the roof, her claws gouging into the wood and leaving deep furrows as she gradually pulled herself over. She was hanging on by upper body strength only, her lower half was dangling over the edge, unable to reach the wall for leverage since the roof stuck out farther than she had estimated. She couldn't quite pull herself up because her claws were stuck well and deep into the wood which kept her from sliding off.

Angela, still on the ground, had watched the progress of her friend in much amusement. After she was done laughing at Kiera's predicament, she shucked the shirt and succumbed to the change herself, controlling it as much as the other had. She easily scrambled up the tree, taking the trail that Kiera had so slowly blazed for her. She reached the upper branches with hardly any trouble, taking care to avoid the same mistakes her counterpart had made. Being lighter than her unlucky companion, she decided to jump instead of risking getting stuck like the other did and effortlessly cleared the jump with more that enough room to spare, landing as lightly as a feline.

Two crimson-furred forearms grasped Kiera's and easily hauled her up, dragging her away from the edge of the roof. Their forms melted and shifted again to reveal two bodies lying side by side, laughing their heads off and holding onto each other as if their lives depended on it.

"I nearly fell off!" Kiera giggled, the adrenaline high adding to a hormonal imbalance of the change put her just a little off-kilter. Just a little.

Angela mock-pouted. "I left my clothes down there."

"My clothes, you mean."

"Whatever, I'm cold." A stronger breeze began to pick up and the redhead shivered automatically, feeling colder than it really was with the sweat drying on her skin. "Go get them for me." She ordered, scooting away and giving the other girl her back.

The American appeared to think for a moment. "How about... no?" She grinned and her eyes began to take on a slightly more mischievous shine. "I can think of other ways to... warm you up." And she pounced.

Kiera effortlessly pinned the other and straddled her hips, trapping both arms beside her head. "Ha ha! And to the conqueror goes the spoils!" She crowed and bent her head to claim her prize.

They met with a fire that threatened to burn them from the inside out, a driving fury stoked by their own heated blood. Angela took advantage when the other's grip loosened and rolled them over, putting herself on top. Slowly, she withdrew as her fangs tore at the other's lower lip, leaving a trail of blood to run down along her jaw. "Who's conquered whom now?" The knowing smirk gracing her face normally would've been enough to drive the other girl over the edge but Kiera's fangs had also done their work, a drop of blood rolled down the corner of the left side of the redhead's mouth so she settled back with her own grin.

"What's so funny?" Her head dropped lower until they were nigh-touching nose-to-nose.

Kiera lifted her head off the boards, "You're bleeding." Her tongue flickered out to catch the cooled drop of red, barely brushing the corner of her mouth.

"I could say the same for you." In one go she licked a trail along Kiera's jaw, following the trace up to her bloodied but now-uninjured lip. All the blood was meticulously cleaned off before she indulged in another kiss. Her partner, for her part, resisted in an attempt to regain control of the situation. Angela smiled and she let on hand drift to lower to squeeze her breast as she ground their hips together in one slow motion.

Kiera grinning internally as her own hand snaked up between them to pinch the redhead's nipple hard. When Angela gasped in surprise, she took the opportunity to deepen the kiss and relish her momentary triumph over the other while paying back that little hip movement with a sharp nip.

And then, the approaching sound with the meaning every hormonal young adult despises the most: coitus interruptus.

Pairs of feet stomped noisily up the stairs, stopping safely prior to the "seeing is believing" point. The sounds of a small scuffle rose up the flight of steps.

"Let me go this instant." It was Motoko, the other revealed to be the trickster fox herself. "No Kitsune, I absolutely refuse to wear THAT costume!"

"Oh, come on! Why not?"

Her libido put on ice with the sound of other people, Kiera shoved the redhead off her lightly. Undeterred, Angela scooted back and curled up, half-draped over her, appearing for all purposes to be listening intently.

"Everyone in town is going to be here tonight."

"You're kidding me, right? I know you've worn stuff that's shown more skin before. Like our 'Keitaro Lingerie Welcome Back' party or your Xena costume from last year."

Someone, most likely Motoko, sighed in exasperation. "What I meant were the sects of high school fanboys that will be here tonight for the party as well."

"So?"

"I don't desire a repeat of the Xena episode." Kitsune smiled to herself; she had turned quite the profit selling tickets that Xena was at Hinata House.

"Do it as a favor to me then!"

"Then you'll have to go running with me every morning for the next 2 weeks." Motoko said the first thing that came to mind she figured Kitsune would never go along with.

"Fine!" Immediately Kitsune regretted agreeing so quickly. Running 12 kilometers at 6 'o' clock in the morning for two weeks? Someone was gonna have to reimburse her big time. Not to mention drawing Motoko's suspicion.

"Why do you want me in that outfit so badly? You couldn't have forgotten last year." She referred to Kitsune's two-month alcohol ban, dubiously enforced by everyone in the household under the swordswoman's watchful eye.

"It's just that," she paused for a moment. "People have started arriving and we're on door greeter duty right now and neither of us are dressed!" Well, it was a half-truth; they didn't have to greeting duty for another half-hour but she didn't want to miss the handful of hot guys that were supposed to come as the Chippendale dancers.

Motoko sighed in defeat and mumbled her assent; she could at least do this duty after blowing the kitchen wall out this afternoon. Kitsune dragged her back downstairs, taking the steps two at a time in her rush.

The duo lying naked on the boards waited until all sounds of footsteps totally faded away before moving.

"Party? What party? I didn't hear anything about any party." Kiera wriggled out from underneath the semi-pin as the redhead's countenance took on a surprised look; the conversation she had eavesdropped days ago on completely slipped her mind. Angela leapt to her feet and pulled the other up with her. "We have to get dressed."

"But I don't want-"

"Favor.

Damn. Kiera hung her head as she shuffled after the other girl.

(OOO)(OOO)

Kiera's Dominion, 7:14 PM. . .

"Oh no," She backed away from Angela, eyeing the bundle of leaves and leather in her arms. "No, no, no. That isn't a costume; that's two steps from being a wet dream."

"Recall my scratching your ears? You owe me a favor."

"Arg. Can't you ask me to do something else?" Her head dropped into her hands.

"Well, you can always stay up here and we can have our own little party." Kiera paused and actually considered the idea before shooting it down. On principle, one should avoid sex with friends; one shouldn't really be lusting after friends to begin with. She held out a hand for the costume.

"Good girl." Although Angela would've certainly abandoned plan she and Kitsune came up with had Kiera agreed to her latter request, she took to dressing her in the leaf-and-leather costume instead.

One hand swatted playfully at the roving other that was handling her breast a little too much to simply be adjusting the top of her costume. "Groping me doesn't help with the ties." Kiera coughed. One long strip of leather thong was wound around her upper body, pinning two large leaves to her chest that carefully covered her breasts and didn't reveal much more than what she was comfortable with.

Kiera held still as more leather straps twined around her hips to hold up a, you guessed it, leather loincloth. With the bottom half finally tied up, she moved to grab the panties resting on her bed only to have them snatched away by Angela.

"Ah ah ah," She tsked, "I'm afraid you're going to have to go bare under that tonight, love, otherwise it'll ruin the effect." The delightfully mischievous leer on her face warned the American it'd be best to keep on her toes, especially tonight.

"I don't have a choice, do I?" She grumbled as she felt a slight pull on her hair as Angela tugged off the tie for her braid. Fingers combed through her hair, undoing the loose plait before she got an answer. "Nope, and you'll be getting some drinks in you tonight as well. Let your guard down; I'll be there to protect you from those big bad people who would take advantage of you." Her hands stopped slithering through the dark mass of hair for a moment. Kiera could practically feel the enormous, Cheshire-cat grin she knew would be plastered all over the other's face before the warm breath drifted by her ear.

"You can trust me." Angela moved aside the ebon mane and planted a light kiss on the spot behind Kiera's ear where her jaw connected.

"Oh spare me. I can trust you to be the first in line if I drink anything containing alcohol in it tonight." She smirked as she poked the other casually on the arm. "Am I done?"

"Not quite, I still have to put on your effects."

"Effects?" She reached up to touch her hair only to have her hand slapped away. "Just what am I supposed to be anyway?"

"Just some things to braid into your lovely mane and some fake tattoos. I'll be done in a half-hour or so."

"But what am I?"

Angela smirked. "We've been trying to find the answer to that question for some time now. Hey, no touching until I'm finished!"

"Ha ha, my sides are splitting." She retracted her smarting hand again.

Kiera got a pinch on the shoulder for her troubles. "You, are supposed to be an Amazon."

"Oh really? Since when did Amazons go prancing around in outfits like these?"

"Since I decided to take a few 'creative liberties'."

"Does one of these liberties require me to be bare-assed under this loincloth?" She arched an amused eyebrow even though the other girl couldn't see it.

"Yes."

(OOO)(OOO)

A half-hour or so later...

"Ah, finished! I declare you to be my greatest work yet!" She dusted her ink-splattered hands in front of her, beaming in delight.

"Finally! I thought I was going to fall asleep before you were done." Kiera rose from her chair, careful not to smear the ink still drying on her legs and hobbled over to the mirror; she couldn't even feel the soft leather sandals on her feet. This was the first real glimpse she'd gotten of herself since they started. The black tattoos coiled round her body, covering most of her exposed skin and manifesting themselves as different patterns depending on the way the light hit them. Plaited into her hair were small white shapes and a few random leaves thrown in for the hell of it. Her hair now looked even closer to an animal's mane as it framed her face, making her appear wild and unkempt. The few markings on her face gave her a more bestial look and she smiled at herself, pleased with how well she looked. Her brow furrowed for an instant as she jabbed at the white things braided into her hair. "Are these little pieces of bone?!"

"Fake." Her hands adjusted the few that were prodded although they were still safely nestled in their places. "So what do you think?"

"I look good, thank you very much." She turned and gave the girl a very wicked grin.

"Still irritated that you have to go bare?" Angela rested her chin against the other's shoulder as she wrapped her arms around Kiera's hips, her hands dangerously close to sliding underneath the loincloth. "Wait, there's just one more thing left." To Kiera's immense surprise, Angela stepped away without doing anything, retreating over to look in the bag sitting on the bed.

"What?" After picking her jaw up off of the floor, she padded over and peered into the bag.

"This." In a blink, she shoved Kiera into the wall hard and moved in for a scorching kiss before the other knew what was going on. Taking full advantage her daze, she easily gained entrance to the other's mouth as she nudged her knee in between her legs while pressing up against Kiera as close as possible. Her nails gradually lengthened into claws as she grasped and dug them into the other's hips. She kept her eyes open, narrowed and intense, and watched as the amber lightened the edge of the irises and advanced progressively toward the pupil after Kiera began to respond with cautious enthusiasm.

Angela pulled back just as suddenly, leaving the poor girl to blink in confusion and catch her breath. "What the hell?" She licked her lips, flashing a bit of fang before warily stepping away from wall. "What gives?"

The redhead gave her a smirk. "Get out of here before you make me ruin all my hard work."

"Well, with the way you grabbed me I'll be surprised is it's not ruined already." She checked herself over, not a single mark was smudged amazingly enough. "Huh?"

"Trade secret, now get out! I have to get changed myself, you know!" Grabbing the other girl by the shoulders, she forcibly marched her to the door and pushed her out, shoving something into her hands. "I'll find you later." She said before she closed the door in her face. "And try not to hurt yourself!"

'_What just happened here?'_ Kiera stared at the door for another moment. _'Well, she just kissed you then threw you out of your own room.'_ The voice in her head replied. "I see." Distractedly, she examined what had been thrust into hands so suddenly; it was a spear, a real one that came up to her eye level. Shaking her head, she took off down the hall, eager to see just what the party was like and making a mental note to be careful with her pointy new toy.

(OOO)(OOO)

At the front door...

"PERVERTS!" Motoko punched one of the teens in front of her after his lewd comment involving where he'd like to put his "sword". The pitiable boy flew backwards, slamming into his group of friends before knocking them all out the open door.

Kitsune looked up from her conversation with someone who looked like he was dressed as the Phantom of the Opera just in time to see the punk go through the open door via the swordswoman. That was the fifth one. "Motoko!"

"What?" Her frown looked very in-character with her costume as she glared at the fox.

"Will you stop doing that? He was just being stupid. They're just kids; they're entitled to be stupid."

Kiera came down the stairs, nearly tripping on the last step and impaling herself on her spear. "Hey guys." She called out to Kitsune, the one she immediately noticed. She could only see the back of what she assumed to be Motoko's head since she was surrounded by a large group of costumed people.

"Nice to see you made it back in time after the way you took off earlier." Kitsune was dressed as a pirate. A bandanna was tied around her head, keeping her hair out of the way, and a fake parrot sat on her left shoulder. Her red and white striped top was raggedly cut to expose her stomach and a broad leather belt held up her loose black pants, which in turn were tucked into her mid-calf boots. Stuck into her belt were a huge cutlass and a replica of an antique pistol. "Oh good, someone told you it's a costume party too." The fox stepped away from the crowd, leaving the swordswoman to flounder in the group of people. "Surprise! Nice costume, by the way." Kitsune winked, nudging the American in the ribs. "Hoping to get lucky in that little number?"

"Yeah, right." Kiera laughed, rolling her eyes. CRUNCH! Another set of perverts went out the open door, this time one of them managed to work up the nerve to slap the swordswoman's costumed butt.

"Damn it!" Kitsune shoved the remaining teens away before they become the next target for Motoko's wrath and seized the samurai by the wrist. "Just go downstairs Motoko; I can handle this by myself."

Kiera's jaw hit the floor again when she got a good look at Motoko; she was dressed like Lulu from FFX (Final Fantasy X). One lock of hair hung over her left eye, concealing half of her face. The rest of her hair was twisted up into an elaborate design with long braids in the back with various decorative chopsticks holding it in place. Crimson contacts and dark purple lipstick made her look distinctly sinister but it was offset by the fact that she was clutching a doll, an Onion Knight, Lulu's final weapon in the game. The fur-trimmed bodice was rather low-cut, giving Kiera quite the view, although despite how it looked like her breasts would just pop out she was willing to bet that it was tight enough to stay on. The costume itself was tight enough to emphasize her curves and yet keep all the good details out of sight. Her skirt of leather belts was impressive; it granted tempting glimpses of her legs while letting her keep her modesty.

The moment Kitsune saw Kiera's jaw drop, she knew her plan would work. Now all that was left was the heavy inebriation part. _'Oh kendo girl, if only you knew this was for your own good.'_ She chuckled internally while sipping her beer. _'And entertainment, of course.'_

Motoko shifted uneasily, getting nervous under the absorbing stare of Kiera. "What? Do you," she paused, her gaze dropping to examine at the Onion Knight cradled in her arms. "Do you not like my costume?" Despite her words, the tone she conveyed nothing but absolute indifference.

Kiera finally snapped out of it, shaking her head in an emphatic disagreement. "NO! No, your costume is great! I love the way it looks on you!" _'Maybe just a bit too much.'_ She hesitated before quickly adding, "Er, that is, you look great in it is, uh, what I meant!" _'Bet it would look even better on the lamp.'_ An amoral little voice added. Her eyes widened slightly at her own innate perversity before rubbing the bridge of her nose. _'Damn Angela.'_

They stared at each other for another moment. "Perhaps we should go get something to drink and stop blocking the front door like this." Motoko suggested. Kiera nodded and trotted after Motoko, her gaze briefly sliding lower before she tripped on the butt of her spear again.

Kitsune watched the whole scene from the corner of here eye and snickered to herself while chatting up a few fellow bar patrons that had shown up for the free booze. _'That's so cute; they're acting like a couple of teens on their first date. I wonder if they'll want a picture to commemorate the occasion.'_ Meanwhile, Kiera was thinking the same thing.

'_Get a grip! You are not some kid on her first date!'_ Going down the dimly-lit and wide stairwell proved to be especially challenging, Kiera had to be especially careful not to trip again because, as she discovered much to her dismay, her eyes tended to wander over the swordswoman instead of watching where she was going. Thirty steps later and she was home free, the odd thing was while they could see into the party room, and see that while everyone was partying pretty hardily, they couldn't hear a sound. "Hey, what's this?" Kiera was about to prod at one of the oddly shaped boxes that sat on either side of the doorway when her spear had been stopped by Motoko.

"Don't touch it. It's one of Su's more useful inventions; it's some sort of sound dampener."

She mock-pouted at being deprived of a new opportunity to put her new toy to a better use, besides accidentally tripping over it. "Right, so how do we get past it?"

"I think we just step over the boundary since there doesn't seem to be a way to turn it off." The three-eyed symbol stared up at them, glinting in the dim light.

"You think?"

Motoko shrugged. "Normally, I've always been inside the boundaries when she's put these things to use." She thought for a moment. _'Unless it's supposed to be turned off from inside.' _She smiled sweetly at Kiera, put a hand on her shoulder, and shoved her through.

Kiera lurched and stumbled forward. The rush of sounds overwhelmed her ears, all jumbled together since she had just come out of the silence. Quickly, though, her brain sorted out the noise. A great deal of it was the pulsing beat of the dance music blasting from the speakers. People and conversation bustled around her and the flickering strobe lights didn't help when she felt a sudden attack of vertigo come over her.

A hand grabbed her shoulder and she reflexively jerked away, spinning to face her opponent.

Motoko smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that; it just I've learned to be wary of that girl and her mechanical toys over time." She shivered involuntarily as she remembered Mecha Tama Ultimate, a gigantic cybernetic turtle Su debuted as a welcome home present when she got back before the summer ended. "Eh? Are you well?" The swordswoman caught the odd expression on Kiera's face and pulled her over to one side, inspecting her carefully.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just a little overwhelmed by the lights." Kiera tried to wave the other girl off. "Maybe something to drink might calm your nerves." Motoko suggested.

"Not a bad idea." The drink table's lighting looked a little more constant unlike the dizzying array of blinking lights on the main dance floor. She seized Motoko by the wrist and weaved her way through the crowd. She was relieved to see sodas and water stacked on the tables as well as the ungodly amount of liquor and junk food. Motoko poured herself a rum and Coke while Kiera snagged a can of Coke.

"You don't drink?" Motoko looked somewhat surprised; she figured the other girl to be a party animal.

Kiera chuckled and popped open the can, taking a sip before replying. "I try not to."

"Why? Do you hate to drink?" Motoko suddenly felt guilty; here she was, a master of the Gods' Cry School indulging in an unhealthy habit like drinking while others were abstaining. She frowned at the cup in her hands and set it back down on the table.

"Don't stop on my part." She grinned and put the drink back into her hands. "It's not that I hate to drink; it's that I avoid to. I've got absolutely no tolerance when it comes to alcohol and I'm told I'm quite the.... er, exhibitionist when drunk."

Motoko decided to shelve her guilt about indulging in spirits and save it for another time; now she just wanted to get to know the other girl better and have a little fun. "Oh? Like what?" She asked, playfully nudging the other girl in the side.

"Well, there was this one time with this giant wooden cross..."

(OOO)(OOO)

Back at the front door...

Angela padded quietly down the stairs, tapping a long thin piece of wood against her thigh absently. "Hey Kitsune."

Everyone turned to face her, jaws dropping in sheer amazement. One poor nerd, dragged to this party by his wanna-be cool friends flat out fainted. Even Kitsune's eyes widened.

"What?" It wasn't fact that no one's ever seen a schoolgirl outfit like that before; it was that the girl could make the outfit work. The redhead had the whole impression of naïve innocence going on while still managing to look drop dead sexy. The black pleated skirt barely came down to mid-thigh; bending over was going to be quite a trick. Her top was a tight, white button-up shirt; the top three or four buttons were undone. A red and gold tie was under her shirt collar, pulled loose enough so that it wasn't in the way if you wanted to look down her shirt. A black robe was pulled around her, hanging open; the wine-dark burgundy lining oddly contrasting with her hair. The Hogwarts crest was sewn into the left shoulder of her robe. The last touches were the mid-calf grey socks and shiny black leather shoes. "What's the verdict, fox?"

"Not bad, not bad." Kitsune nodded approvingly. "It works."

"What do you think?" Angela approached one of the guys standing there, her hands held behind her and leaned forward slightly, giving the boy a clear view down her shirt. She neatly stepped aside as blood shot out of his nose like a geyser. He pitched backward and hit the floor, blissful smile on his beet-red face. "That good, eh?"

She turned back to Kitsune. "What did you think of Kiera's costume; I told you I could get her into it." Smirking, she buffed her nails on the robe.

"Well I'm sure it wasn't just for Motoko's benefit." The fox chuckled lightly; she taped up a sign by the door to direct any more newcomers downstairs. "Come on, dealing with these boneheads have made me really thirsty. Plus the party's already in full swing and I don't wanna miss any more."

"You had me at thirsty."

(OOO)(OOO)

Downstairs....

"-then we ended up wrestling in lime Jell-o." Kiera chuckled, her face flushing slightly. "It was awful. I-Hey, stop laughing!"

Motoko was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe, the I'm-gonna-pass-out-from-laughing-so-hard kind of laughter. "I can picture you doing that!" She gasped out, clutching her sides. Her balance was thrown when someone bumped into her roughly from behind and she pitched forward into Kiera, dropping her cup on the floor.

Kiera's arms went around her body on reflex, pressing the other girl's face into her chest.

"Well, you two are certainly getting affectionate." A pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind. "Can I get a hug like that too?"

"We weren't- She tripped! Really!" Hastily, Kiera pulled Motoko upright again, the both of them sporting cherry-red faces.

"Mmhmm..." Kitsune nodded and winked at Motoko over Kiera's shoulder.

"Wow, you're lucky you didn't impale her with your new toy either." The look Kiera gave Angela was somewhere between disgust and amusement. Motoko's grin faltered when she noticed that Angela's arm lingered around the other girl's waist and she resisted the urge to knock her smirking face in.

The American was personally glad she didn't make a fool out of herself again when she got a good look at the redhead's costume. Although it didn't stop her from having a few naughty thoughts come to mind as she halfheartedly tried to free herself.

"Come on, just the tiniest sip, please?" Angela had somehow managed to pour herself some kind of alcoholic mixer one-handed and was pressing the cup to Kiera's lips.

"Aww, isn't that cute?" Kitsune was making gagging noises and funny faces while Kiera tried to escape the inevitable bonds of peer pressure and not open her mouth to laugh. She relented reluctantly and nearly choked when the contents were poured down her throat. "OH, MY GOD! Is that Drano?!" She rasped, clutching her throat. "Are you trying to kill me?!"

Kitsune giggled and pulled on swordswoman's arm. "Even Motoko here can mix better drinks than your poison, Red! After all, she learned it from the drink master!" She thumped her chest in pride and knocked back a few more shots of tequila. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I can see someone waving to me. Ciao!"

"You're kidding.... We've only been here five minutes and she's already halfway to drunk?" The two foreigners watched as she disappeared into the dancing body of the crowd.

"I think she considers it a talent." Motoko was busy mixing up various things in a big red Dixie cup and didn't even look up.

Angela frowned and took a sip of her "poison". "I don't know what you're going on about; this tastes fine." She grabbed a bottle of vodka and tipped a few more splashes in. "Ah, much better. Want another taste?"

Kiera twitched, a giant sweatdrop on the back of her head. "Nah, I don't feel like having to go to the hospital for alcohol poisoning right now." The redhead snorted and took another swig of the stuff.

"Here." The brimming red Dixie cup was put in her hands to replace her now-missing can of soda.

"Not you, too."

Idly, Angela ran her fingers up and down the shaft of Kiera's pointy new toy. "Just relax, have a little to drink. Cut loose. I mean, what's the worse that could happen?" She gave the American her biggest, most charming, 'you-can-trust-me' smiles. It was oddly disturbing to see with smiling like that in her costume.

'_This is gonna be a long night.'_ Kiera thought as she shook her head and raised the cup to her lips.

(OOO)(OOO)

3 A.M. or several alcoholic drinks later...

"Are they all gone?" Kiera pretended to glower at Keitaro but failed miserably. Thank God for the wolf's constitution or she would've been drunk off her ass by now. Even thought, the staggering amounts of alcohol in her system worked her up to a warm, heady buzz. That should've set off alarms in her head.

"Yeah, all gone now." He slid the door shut and in some way managed to trip himself up, landing on his back. "Stop the ride, I'm gettin' dizzy." Keitaro groaned from his place the floor and pulled himself up rather shakily.

"'Bout time.' Kitsune winked conspiratorially at Angela while smiling her drunken smile. "It's time for some bonding!"

Keitaro flushed and blood began to drip out of his nose as he thought about what kind of "bonding" the fox girl might be hinting about.

Naru caught the funny expression on thee landlord's face at the word 'bonding'. "Perv!" She swung here fist in hopes of delivering an effective Naru-punch but instead she lost in balance and stumbled into him, taking them both to the floor with her on top.

It was no use; everyone was several drinks away from sober and moving steadily away because they were still drinking.

"How's about a little Truth or Dare?" Kitsune suggested. She didn't even wait for an answer from anyone. "Everybody, sit down in a circle!"

Everyone obeyed since no one could think up any other ideas. Kiera glanced to both sides of her; Angela was to the left, Motoko to the right. This wasn't going to turn out well. "How are we going to decide on who goes first?" Shinobu was to the right of Su and was probably the one who had the least to drink.

"We spin the bottle, of course!"

Shinobu looked around, all the empty bottles were still downstairs. "What bottle?"

"Give me a sec; I can only drink so fast." Hastily, Kitsune chugged the rest of her beer and set the bottle down on its side. "And here we go!" She gave it a quick spin only to have it land on her. "Well, whaddaya know?" She eyed everyone in the circle before settling on Naru. "Truth or dare, Naru?"

"Uh...." Given the fact it was Kitsune, both choices were going to suck, so she went with what seemed to be the easier, less-damaging choice. "Truth."

Kitsune paused to think for a moment before delivering the blow. "When was the last time you masturbated?"

"KITSUNE!" Everybody ooh-ed and Naru turned bright red.

The fox shrugged. "You can always chicken out; I'll give ya somethin' to do instead."

That wasn't a better choice. Naru mumbled under her breath.

"Louder Naru, we gotta be able to hear ya."

She mumbled again.

"What?"

"TWO FREAKING DAYS AGO!"

"And it's obviously not doing you any good; you're still as high-strung as ever!" She winked and ducked as the empty bottle flew in her direction.

Naru shook her head and picked the next victim for their games. "Su, truth or dare?"

The game went on, back and forth and getting more and more explicit or bizarre for each choice before landing on the fox again. Everyone tried to make themselves look small in hopes of not being picked. "Motoko, truth or dare?"

Deciding she wasn't ready to reveal embarrassing personal information, she picked the obvious choice in her inebriated state. "Dare."

Wrong.

"Motoko," Kitsune had this horrible sly twinkle in her eyes. "I dare you," she paused for effect. "To kiss Kiera." After Keitaro's unbelievably quick peck on Su's butt earlier, kissing rules had been agreed on if anymore kissing was to be done as a dare. Thirty second hold, groping and moaning optional. The swordswoman turned bright red whereas Kiera paled and saw the broad smile on Angela's face from the corner of her eye.

Motoko didn't want to back down and face whatever other scheme Kitsune had in mind for back up. _'It's just a thirty second peck, calm down!'_ She took a breath to steel herself and leaned in to kiss the American.

Unaccustomed to such hesitation, Kiera reacted immediately with her baser urges to spice things up. She drew even closer to Motoko and traced her tongue over her lower lip, seeking entrance. The samurai nearly jerked away in surprise but she parted her lips on instinct. Gingerly, a tongue began probing the inside of her mouth before she responded warily.

"Time!" Kitsune called when the little hourglass' sand was gone. Neither heard, or if they did, they gave no sign of it.

Keitaro was staring; he didn't even react or move when Naru punched his head. "What is it with guys and seeing girls make out?!" Out of sheer annoyance, Naru finally grabbed his head and kissed him to get his attention.

The game degenerated rapidly when Kiera and Motoko finally broke apart. Su and Shinobu pulled another disappearing act and Naru was busy being latched onto the landlord's face.

"I guess it's time to call it a night." Kitsune winked at Angela, who nodded and began to put in play the last part of their plan. She pretended to trip and was caught neatly in Kiera's arms. The redhead leaned closer and whispered something that forced the American to turn bright crimson after being so pale and dazed. Angela drew herself up and leaned heavily onto Kiera, noting the angry rage that was beginning to suffuse the swordswoman's face while tracing her hands up and down the other's body. "Come on, let's go upstairs."

"Er, you're drunk." Internally, the American was secretly relieved that the Briton was so tipsy. While her wolf side may ward off getting intoxicated, the heightened senses were both a blessing and a hideously malicious curse. And she could acutely smell certain things that she didn't want to know about. Like Motoko, for instance. _'And doesn't she smell good? Why, good enough to eat, eh?'_ Even her subconscious was baiting her at this point. Gradually, she released the wolf from the forefront of her mind, her senses dulling to that of an observant human. The alcoholic buzz that was humming within her skull grew louder until she was practically drowning in it.

Angela grinned as she watched Kiera's eyes turn to a solid dark brown color again; the amount of alcohol she had unconsciously consumed taking its toll as she came to be supported by the redhead in turn when her balance was suddenly shot. Kitsune was keeping the angry swordswoman at bay the only way she knew how; she placated her with mass amounts of liquor, specifically, a bottle of vodka forcibly poured down her throat was keeping her occupied. Kiera managed to right herself woozily and grinned broadly, planting light kisses along Angela's clavicle before nipping her sharply. When the Brit jerked and looked at the girl in her arms, all she got was a deceitfully innocent smile in return. "Did I ever mention how much I like your costume?" She leaned forward and kissed the other softly on the lips before crushing her lips with her own, her hands sliding under her blouse and pressing them closer together.

Motoko swallowed a considerable amount of vodka before she knocked the bottle away in a rage. She was momentarily restrained by Kitsune before breaking free and pulling Angela and Kiera apart in her fury. Angela stepped away gracefully, earning a dirty look from the swordswoman,

"Oh, hi Motoko." Kiera grinned slyly at Motoko, stepping up close until their bodies were almost touching, not even an inch between them. The irate swordswoman initiated the first contact; she seized Kiera by her shoulders and pulling her in for a furious kiss.

"I think our job here is done." Angela smirked, only mildly perturbed about being handled so roughly and wiped away an imaginary tear.

"I think you're right." Kitsune took a swig from the salvaged sake bottle that was lying about. "Now, all that's left is to put the kiddies to bed." The fox dropped a blanket over the now-sleeping forms of Naru and Keitaro.

"Aye." The pair broke apart, panting and leaning against each other. Angela and Kitsune promptly grabbed Kiera and Motoko's respective arms before hauling them upstairs.

(OOO)(OOO)

Kiera's room. . .

Both dark-haired women were out cold for the moment and naked in Kiera's queen-sized bed, lying comfortably on top of the sheets and entwined with one another.

"Okay, I think I've got enough pictures now." Kitsune beamed at Angela. "I wonder how much'll Kiera pay to get them back?"

Angela chuckled to herself. "Quite a bit, I suspect."

The fox snapped a few more pictures for good measure. "Hey, so where are ya gonna sleep tonight?" She yawned, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. "My room's open if ya need a place to crash."

"Actually, I was thinking of staying here." The redhead propped up the spear against the far wall while she yawned. "It'll give Kiera such a scare when she comes to in the morning."

"Eh, suit yourself." She paused for a moment before holding up her digital camera again. "Ooh, I know, strip and hop in bed with them. I'll take a couple more shots."

"Good idea." Angela shed her clothes quickly and crawled into bed, wriggling her way between the two juxtaposed women. "Is here good?" She sidled up to Kiera and closed her eyes.

Kitsune took a moment to admire her. _'Wow, she looks good. Too bad she's not a guy.'_ A little voice she hadn't noticed before spoke up. _'When's that ever stopped you before?'_ She smiled, another idea occurring to her. _'Maybe later, for now, let's just finish the task at hand.'_ "Move closer, put your leg over hers." Angela obeyed and she took a few more shots while directing her into other positions. Her camera beeped at her; no memory was left. "Well, now I've really finished." She pressed the off button and turned to leave. "G'night and sweet dreams, Red."

Angela snickered as she managed to pull the comforter over all three of them. "I hope so. Good night to you too, fox." The lights abruptly switched off, leaving only dim moonlight to help her vision. She spared one thought before settling down to sleep. _'I wonder if Kiera still acts out her dreams?'_ She smirked deviously to herself. _'I really hope so.'_

(OOO)(OOO)

In the hallway. . .

"Good luck, Red." Kitsune pocketed her camera and speedily set up Su's sound dampeners just within the door, programming the room size and poking the on button, a low-frequency hum filling the air for a moment before disappearing. She slid the door shut. "You're gonna need it when Motoko wakes up." The fox chuckled before yawning again; it was about time she got herself to bed as well.

(OOO)(OOO)

A/N: 14,186 words without the notes at the top and bottom, according to the word count of Microsoft word; 34 pages long. Damn. Ok, I've really got to stop trying to outdo myself on length. From now on, chapters won't top more than 15 pages unedited; it'll make it faster I should think. I'm so sorry about such a long wait. Was it worth it? I sure hope so, otherwise I'll be in tears....

Angela: (knocks MindKore out with a shovel) You took so BLOODY long.... Something better be happening while we're in that bed together.... (rifles through MindKore's notes) ...Oh, you're a little monster, aren't you? (grabs a pen and begins making her own rewrites)

Kiera: (walks in) What're you doing? (looks over Angela's shoulder) She's making me do what?! (eyes widen) Wait, you're making me do WHAT?! GIVE ME THOSE! (snatches the notes away)

Angela: Give it back! (starts fighting with Kiera)

MindKore: Urg.... My head... (sits up and sees her notes being fought over) NOOO!! MY NOTES!! (jumps in and snatches the notes) OH, MY GOD! WHOSE IDEA IS THIS?! (reads more of Angela's rewrites)

Kiera: (grabs MindKore by the collar and shakes her) Fix it; I don't want to be –

Angela: (claps a hand over Kiera's mouth) Hush, or you'll give away the upcoming plot! And besides, you didn't like my rewrite much better...

Kiera: (steals the notes away again) Well, excuse me, but I don't believe the NC-17 or XXX rating is allowed here. (points to something on the notes) And that, I'm sure, qualifies as NC-17.

Angela: (scoffs) Oh, please. Have you seen the other sections; they're rife with it.

Kiera: (gives Angela a disbelieving look) But you're explicit! I mean, listen to this –

MindKore: (covers Kiera's mouth with her hand) No need to repeat it; all of us here know. I'm really trying not to get banned.

Angela: Come on, don't you want to have one halfway decent scene where we don't get interrupted multiple times? (takes notes and starts rewriting again)

Kiera: (pries MindKore's hand off) No. You are a little nymphomaniacal, friend-complexing, controlling sex kitten. With a touch of sadomasochism.

Angela: Since when was that a bad thing? (leans closer to Kiera and begins running her free hand up and down her body) Hmm?

MindKore: (covers her face with a hand and hits the button to drop the screen) How about I make you a deal, eh Red?

Angela: (growls) Address me as Angela or it's you next. Now, hand me those handcuffs.

MindKore: Eep. Gotcha. (hands her the cuffs)

Kiera: ...How do I manage to get myself into these things?

Angela: Come on, you're making it sound like I torture you when we both know you enjoy it. Anyways, you were saying?

MindKore: Er... I'll discuss it with you when you're not so... busy. (tries to leave)

Angela: You may as well tell me now because you're hardly going anywhere anytime soon. (ties MindKore up with rope) You honestly didn't think I was going to let that 'Red' comment slide, did you?

MindKore: ...God have mercy on my soul.

Angela: How can it? You're an atheist.

MindKore: ...Good point.

-MindKore, property of Angela and Kiera

Extra A/N: Bah, my friend was supposed to give me a good review before I posted, but I've waited like two weeks, so I'm posting this now since she's taking way too long. Enjoy! I'll try to have the next chapter out within the next few months; so, here's to hoping!


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